


Wars Waged, Battles Lost

by LoNeGH0ST



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Angst, BAMF James "Rhodey" Rhodes, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Tony Stark, Canon-Typical Violence, Extremis Tony Stark, Father-Son Relationship, Found Family, Gen, I'm not a doctor but I will try to research, Medical Jargon, Misunderstandings, Not Spider-Man: Homecoming Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:07:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 63,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21855760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoNeGH0ST/pseuds/LoNeGH0ST
Summary: No amount of preparation could have prepared him for what he saw on the other side of the door. Mr Stark is sitting up in a hospital bed, pillows behind his back and head, eyes closed and face looking relaxed. There’s an IV bag hooked up to his left arm that’s resting on top of the right arm. The right arm that had been amputated. The one that now looks to be a mechanical arm kinda like the one he saw in Germany, but much more...sleek? Peter isn’t sure what word he’s looking for.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Michelle Jones & Peter Parker, Ned Leeds & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Peter Parker & Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 54
Kudos: 384
Collections: My amazing all time favourites.





	1. Something New

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I've been reading a lot of Extremis!Tony fics recently but they didn't have everything I wanted so I decided that I would try and write what I wanted, and hope that along the way I've written something the rest of you might also enjoy. All of this wouldn't be possible without the help of one of the best friends I could ask for. You know who are and what you've done and I couldn't be more thankful for you!
> 
> I currently have 5 chapters of this written and the plan is to post weekly while writing new chapters each week. Weather or not that actually happens remains to be seen. I have no idea how long this will be and I don't have a current endgame but for now I'm just enjoying writing.
> 
> As always, comments are welcomed!

“C’mon Peter, if you’re gonna call then call. This shouldn’t be that hard!” 

Peter mutters to himself as he’s sitting on a rooftop somewhere in Queens. He’s looking down at his phone, finger hovering over the contact for Mr. Hogan. It’s been a month since the events in Germany and he hasn’t spoken to Mr. Hogan or Mr. Stark since. It’s not like he’s expecting to be texting one of them like they’re best friends or something. He’s just ...worried. No one has seen Mr. Stark since Germany and the only information that Stark Industries has put out is that he was ‘Taking a step back to focus on himself and healing’ but that hadn’t made sense to Peter. Sure when Mr. Stark had dropped him back off at the apartment he had been a little banged up and he looked pretty tired but other than that he had looked fine. So what could he possibly need to be healing from? Unless something happened after he dropped Peter off?

He shakes his head to clear it out, musters all his courage and hits the call button bringing his phone up to his ear. It rings, once, twice, thrice, at the end of the third ring it’s answered with a gruff voice.

“I don’t know how you got this number but I swear to god if you reporters-”

Peter really doesn’t want to cut him off but he has a feeling he knows where this is headed and he wants to stop it before it gets there.

“Mr. Hogan? I’m not a uh, a reporter. It’s me, Peter? Peter Parker? The one you and Mr. Stark took to Germany?” 

The line goes silent for a moment before he hears a deep sigh.

“Kid? When did you get my number? And why are you calling my number?”

“Uh, M-Mr. Stark gave me your number after Germany? He said to call if there was ever an emergency-and there’s not an emergency! I promise everything’s fine! It’s just, well, no one has seen or heard from Mr. Stark in a while. And I know the company put out that statement, but it didn’t make any sense to me because M-Mr. Stark was fine after Germany. So I can only think something happened a-after Germany. Something a lot worse.”

Peter knew he was rambling. He does it all the time despite how many times he’s tried to stop doing it. But once he gets on a roll it’s sometimes hard for him to stop. He was just proud he didn’t stutter nearly as much as he thought he would. It’s silent again for a moment before an even deeper sigh comes across the line.

“No wonder Tony took a liking to you. You’re too smart for your own damn good. Listen, Peter, you’ve been on speaker, sorry I should have told you sooner but I didn’t really get a chance.” Happy says it with a small chuckle that almost sounds fond. “Anyway, there’s someone here that’d like to talk to you alright?” Before Peter can give a response there’s rustling on the other end and a new voice speaking.

“Hello Peter, this is Pepper Potts-” 

Aunt May would kill him if she knew how many adults he’s cut off today. But he really can’t help it.

“ _ CEO of Stark Industries?!?! _ ” and really, what other reaction should he have when speaking to the head of the company that he’s been following since he was little? “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to cut you off.”. Instead of scolding him, she lets out a small chuckle, that again, Peter has a feeling sounds too fond for someone she’s just speaking to for the first time.

“Yes Peter, CEO of SI. I take it you’re a fan?” Peter gives a noise of affirmative before she continues “Well it’s always nice to know that there’s a younger generation excited about SI like Tony and I are. But you didn’t call to hear about that, you called to check on Tony.” she gives a small sigh of her own, it sounds like she’s collecting herself for something which sends a jolt of panic down Peter’s spine. “Well you’re right, Tony’s absence isn’t related to Germany, but we didn’t want to dispel that rumor since it was convenient for us. And before you ask, I won’t be going into detail on what did happen. That is not a story for me to tell. Now I’m to understand that Tony, for lack of a better word, recruited you under the guise of an internship here at SI, correct?” Peter gives another affirmative noise. “Well then we’re going to make that an official internship. I am now appointing you as Tony’s personal intern.” 

Peter’s jaw drops, He has no idea what to say to something like that. He had hoped for the superhero mentorship but this? This is much more than that, it’s so much more than he even thought to dream of. Apparently he takes too long to answer in his shocked stupor

“Peter are you still there? Did I lose you?” Ms. Potts sounds concerned which brings Peter back to reality, or whatever version of reality he’d just stepped into.

“Yes! Yes absolutely!” he’s suddenly up and pacing around the rooftop, running his free hand through his hair. Ms Potts only laughs again and it sounds a little brighter.

“Yes I absolutely lost you?” she asks with a smile in her voice. Peter shakes his head again before remembering she couldn't see him.

“No! No you didn’t lose me! I was just ...shocked? But I would absolutely love to be Mr. Starks personal intern!” but he trials off after having another thought, “But what about Mr. Stark? I don’t want to impose on him?.” Peter sounds sheepish even to his own ears.

“You let me worry about Tony. Now, Would you be able to get the tower soon? There are somethings that you’re going to need to be… aware of before officially starting.”

There’s that spike of anxiety surging through Peter again. He’s felt it a couple times before but he’s always chalked it up to general anxiety, or worrying about something. He pulls himself out of his thoughts enough to stutter out an answer.

“I-I can uh, be there i-in like fifteen m-minutes or so?” He poses it as a question so she can decide if that’s too quick or slow for her liking.

“Fifteen minutes works fine. If you need more time then please take it.” She pauses and it sounds like another voice just spoke in the background. “FRIDAY just told me that you’re in the suit, why not come by with a change of clothes and I can explain everything then.” Peter gives a nod.

“I’ll be there as quickly as I can Ms. Potts.”

“Thank you Peter. I’ll see you soon, you can come directly to the penthouse level. FRI will open a window for you to let you in.” 

And with that Ms. Potts hangs up and Peter is left to stare at his phone in a bewildered amazement. He’d just been invited to be the Tony Stark’s personal Intern, by none other than the CEO of Stark Industries Pepper Potts, who he assumes, knows he’s Spider-Man. But not only all of that, she’d also invited him to the _ penthouse! _ The place where Mr. Stark  _ lives _ ! How has his life gotten this crazy!

Peter slips his phone back into its designated pocket and puts his mask back on before starting his treck back to his apartment for a backpack with a change of clothes in it. By the time he’s landing on the fire escape outside his window he’s had enough time to work himself into a bit of panic. His thoughts circling around one thing, ‘What if Mr. Stark doesn’t want me to be his personal intern?’, Ms. Potts had told him to leave Mr. Stark to her and to not worry about it. But he’s never been that type. 

Peter quietly slips into his room and quickly grabs his backpack and puts a change of clothes into it before pulling his phone back out. He opens his conversation with May. He doesn’t like lying to her but if it keeps her safe then he’ll do it.

**Peter:** _hey may i’m going over to neds place to hang out_

It takes a few minutes for him to get a reply but he does.

**May:** _Ok baby! Be careful! Love you!!_

Peter smiles and sends a string of heart emojis to her before putting his phone back in his pocket. He puts his mask back on and heads back out of his window and starts making his way towards Avengers Tower. Though now Peter wonders if it’s going to go back to being Stark Tower now since the Avengers aren’t really a… thing anymore.

He lands on a building near the tower and sees a window open on one of the upper floors so he aims a web near it and takes off. When he gets into the window it closes behind him with a hiss and it’s suddenly very quiet. He pulls his mask off as he hears a voice with what he thinks is an Irish accent speak.

“Hello Mr. Parker, I’m FRIDAY Boss’s personal AI, If you’d be so kind I will lead you to a room where you may change out of the suit.”

Peter nearly jumped out of his skin at hearing a disembodied voice speak to him. His head whips up to stare at the ceiling before the voices words register ‘personal AI’. 

“You’re an AI? Holy shit that’s so cool! I mean I knew Mr. Stark wrote an AI program when he was at MIT but I didn't know he had more!"

He feels a little silly geeking out this much, but how often do you get to speak to an actual AI? 

"Yes I am an AI, and I appreciate your enthusiasm very much. I have alerted Ms. Potts of your arrival and she is currently waiting for you in the MedBay." 

She almost sounds like she's smiling as she's talking. Can AI's smile he wonders. But he shakes his head and asks her to lead the way for somewhere he can change. She leads him to what can only be described as one of the biggest bedrooms he's ever seen. And Peter thinks it's a guest room because there aren't any personal touches to it that he thinks would be in a room that's used. 

He quickly changes out of the suit and into his normal clothes, deciding against the hoodie he brought with him. The tower is actually a very comfortable temperature to him. As he finished he walked out into the hallway trying to tame the mess of curls his hair had turned into from how many times he's taken his mask off. FRIDAY leads him through the amazingly beautiful penthouse and to the elevator taking him down to what he assumes is the MedBay. 

When Peter steps out of the elevator he's met with a woman in a business suit, high heels, and amazing bright ginger hair. She looks up from her phone and smiles brightly at him before putting it in her suit pocket and walking forward, her heels clicking on the hard floor, arm out for a handshake.

“Hello Peter, it’s nice to meet you. I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice!” Peter takes Ms. Potts hand in his and gives it a firm shake. Up close, she's even more beautiful than he could have imagined; only seeing her do press conferences and the like for SI. But, Peter can also see the signs of exhaustion as well. The tense shoulders, gaunt face, bags under her eyes, a certain dullness to her eyes too. It’s how Aunt May looked after Uncle Ben had died. That just makes his panic skyrocket, but before he can ask anything she’s turning around and walking away, clearly expecting him to follow so he does.

  
  


“Like I said on the phone, there are somethings you should be aware of before starting. I also know I said I wouldn’t tell the story of what happened and I’m not going to go into a lot of details but you still need part of it. There was a fight after Germany, in the process Tony was left severely injured in below freezing conditions. We aren’t sure how long he was there without power but by the extent of his injuries we know it was longer than was healthy.”

She pauses outside a door, hand on its handle, and turns to face Peter before continuing, looking sad and pained. Behind the door he can make out a single heartbeat. It sounds strong and steady. It steadies the panic that had been building in his chest.

“Tony suffered severe head and chest trauma, along with major frostbite to his right arm. He had less severe frostbite to his nose and lips and lacerations and bruising over his whole body.” she’s looking at him like she’s pleading for him to understand but he doesn’t think he can. He just knows that his panic is at an all time high again. “He had to have his right arm amputated. His entire right arm. I want you to be mentally prepared for that ok?” Peter can only nod his head as his mind blanks out at the words “right arm amputated”. What kind of fight could have left Mr. Stark so exposed to the elements like that? And who was he fighting for it to happen?

Ms. Potts searches his face for a moment before she seems to find whatever it was she was looking for. She nods once, takes a deep breath in and opens the door. No amount of preparation could have prepared him for what he saw on the other side of the door. Mr Stark is sitting up in a hospital bed, pillows behind his back and head, eyes closed and face looking relaxed. There’s an IV bag hooked up to his left arm that’s resting on top of the right arm. The right arm that had been amputated. The one that now looks to be a mechanical arm kinda like the one he saw in Germany, but much more...sleek? Peter isn’t sure what word he’s looking for. 

There are other things Peter notices too, like the scars on Mr. Starks face. One at his right temple near his hairline, another at his chin right about where his goatee ends. He also notices that Mr. Stark looks younger, much younger than he did when he first met him in person. He looks at the IV bag and sees a small amount of a blue liquid in it. The bag is labeled 'Extermis V4.6 infusion 4', the name Extermis is ringing a bell but it's faint and Peter can't remember where he heard it. 

Peter also notices a small bit of what looks like bandages peeking out from the collar of the short sleeved shirt that Mr. Stark is wearing. Without thinking about it his eyes wander back down to the robotic looking arm. How could this have happened, especially to someone like Mr. Stark, he was the Invincible Iron Man, he wasn't supposed to get hurt like this. He's not sure how long he stares, but the next thing he knows is he's being scared out of his mind by a deep, tired sounding voice. He only just barely manages to not jump thanks to the hand that grips is shoulder at the same time. 

"Pretty neat huh, underoos?" Peters head snaps up, his eyes immediately finding Mr. Starks… whose eyes aren't brown anymore. It looks like a bright blue, not unlike the color of the arc reactor, is seeping into the edges of his iris. Finally he manages to untie his tongue. 

" Y-yea Mr. S-Stark really uh, really neat." well his stutter is strong but he didn't expect much else at this point. Mr. Stark for his part only gives a small, tired smile before moving his arms. Lifting the right one so it’s parallel with his legs that are covered by blankets.

“It’s the first mark, a little crude but with the time crunch I say it does the job well. Mark II will be even better.” 

He sounds proud, but there’s an undercurrent there. Peter isn’t sure what it is but he can hear it. He watches as Mr. Stark makes a fist and releases, he’s surprised to not hear anything at the movement. He thought there might be a  _ hsss _ or something to signify movement, but there’s nothing just like with any other biological limb movement. He’s really impressed with that.

“I can’t wait to see the next Mark then.” Peter isn’t sure that’s the right thing to say, but Mr. Stark looks up from his hand and smiles at him. A full smile this time, even if it does still look tired. Mr. Stark motions to a chair beside the bed.

“Alright c’mon kid, I can see your questions literally burning a hole in your pocket.” Mr. Stark laughs as he says it but he isn’t wrong. Peter has a million and one questions in his brain and he’s dying to ask them. But he doesn’t want to seem rude or something like that.

He goes over to the chair that sits on the right side of the bed and takes a seat. Ms. Potts walks over and leans down to put a gentle kiss on Mr. Starks cheek, before whispering to him. Peter really doesn't try to easiedrop on what she says. It's just his stupid senses always being at eleven. 

"Remember what I said, be nice. I know I didn't give you much choice but I do think this will be good for you." 

She leans back and looks Mr. Stark in the eye and the man just smiles at her, his features going a little soft. 

"Pep, when have you ever known me to do anything I didn't want to do huh?" Mr. Starks laughing again and Ms. Potts smiles back at him. 

"Will that be all Mr. Stark?" 

"Yes, thank you Ms. Potts." 

With that she stands back up to her full height and looks over to Peter, giving him a smile. 

"Peter it was a pleasure to meet you. I suspect we'll be seeing each other more often soon." she's smiling at him with a warmth he isn't sure he deserves but, he nonetheless smiles widely back at her. 

"I look forward to it Ms. Potts!" she gives him a small nod and walked towards the door. Turning back once more to look at both of them, giving one more smile before opening the door and walking out. The clicking of her heels fading from Peters enhanced hearing. Mr. Stark leans his head back against the pillows before angling it so he’s looking at Peter again.

“She doesn’t know about the enhanced senses like I do. So I can fully promise you that she didn’t force me to agree to this. I chose to agree. Alright?” he’s looking at Peter so intensely that he feels there’s no other option than to believe Mr. Stark. So Peter nods his head. Mr. Stark searches his face, not unlike Ms. Potts did earlier before finding whatever it was he was searching for.

“Alright kid, lay them on me. What’s the first question at the tip of your tongue?” Mr. Stark looks like he’s relaxed and open. So Peter goes for the most obvious question he can think of.

“M-Mr. Stark, what the hell happened? You were fine-well as fine as you could be after all of that-you still had both of your arms and you didn’t have bandages wrapping around your chest.” Peter knows he’s being really forward. But he just can’t think of a tactful way of asking.

He watches as Mr. Starks face goes through a series of emotions, almost to quickly for Peter to catch them. He doesn’t catch all of them, but he does see anger, pain, guilt and finally Mr. Starks face settles on a haunted look of grief. Peter isn’t a stranger to grief, he’s known it since he was five. But he’s never seen a grief this deep. When Mr. Stark finally speaks his voice is rough with unshed emotion.

“Like Pepper told you, got into a fight, lost said fight, didn’t have any backup and now I’m dealing with the consequences of it.”

“Mr. Stark please-” 

Peter’s cut off when Mr. Starks head snaps up and he looks him dead in the eye. 

“Kid, there’s a reason I’m not telling you. I can’t tell you alright? I physically cannot. If I start talking about it then I’m gonna go back and relive it again. And to be perfectly frank with you I like living in the present, not the past.”

There’s a fire in Mr. Starks eyes, intensified by the blue that has taken over the majority of his iris in the time they’ve been sitting here. Peter decides to let it go, he wouldn’t like it if Mr. Stark started pring him about Bens’ death, so he won’t pry about this. Peter nods his head giving a slightly guilty look.

“I’m sorry Mr. Stark, I’m not trying to make you relive anything. I’m just...worried? Upset? I don’t know. It’s just a lot to take in, I guess.” he looks down at his lap, feeling embarrassed. He can feel the blush creeping up his neck and onto his face. Mr. Stark gives a sigh and Peter feels cool metal land on his shoulder. Peter snaps his head up to see Mr. Stark with his new arm stretched out, his hand resting on his shoulder, gripping it lightly.

“It’s alright kid, I can’t blame you for the question. Hell I should have seen it coming honestly. And I’m sorry for snapping at you, It’s still a fresh wound so I wasn’t ready for someone to press on it just yet.” Mr. Stark does look sincerely sorry and Peter hopes he does too. He decides to approach the next question with a little more tact hopefully.

“Can-can I uh, well. Wow. I have no tactful way of asking these questions.” he says it with a wry smile and Mr. Stark chuckles.

“Just ask kiddo. I promise not to snap at you this time alright?”

Peter nods his head and just dives head first into his next question.

“Can I touch your arm?” Peter’s blushing again. But he can’t help it! It looks so cool and he’s curious about it. But, the hand that was resting on his shoulder is lifted, Peter finds himself missing the weight but he shakes that thought off for now, and has a metal fist in front of him.

“I’ll be honest with you kid. I thought that might be your first question.” Mr. Starks smiling again and so does Peter, taking the offered arm in both hands.

“What’s it made of Mr. Stark?” it’s light but it feels strong. It’s also sleek, if Mr. Stark was wearing long sleeves and gloves he doesn’t think he’d notice the difference between the two arms. It’s an amazing feat of bioengineering and it has Peter fascinated.

“This one’s made out of titanium and carbon fiber. But I think I’ll make the next one out of the same alloy as the suits, that way it’ll keep its lightweight but going up in its strength.”

“Did you make it or…?” He trails off not knowing exactly how to finish his question. Did Mr. Stark do all of his own building or did he have a team? Could he have built this with one hand? Mr. Stark lets him rotate it so his palm is faced upwards.

“I didn’t build this one personally no. SI has been toying with the idea of getting in the prosthetics market. This arm and it’s socket are actually third generation prototypes that the team had been developing.” Peter whips his head up, stopping in the middle of flexing one of the fingers.

“This is a  _ prototype _ ? That’s insane Mr. Stark! This is way more advanced than anything on the market now!” Peter has seen the reports on trying to get prosthetics to act more like natural limbs but had been met with limited success and the successes were expensive and not widely available. Mr Stark nods his head.

“Yea kid that’s why I wanted to get into the market. It’s been slow going but this little beauty right here is pretty promising. And plus with all the data the teams getting from it it should help speed things along even faster.” Mr. Stark is smiling a proud smile. He looks like a proud dad gushing about his kid.

“Can you feel me touching it?” It’s a sudden thought but Peter feels like he should’ve had it much earlier in the discussion. He lets go of Mr. Starks arm and the man allows it drop.

“Not in the way you’re thinking. I can feel pressure but that’s really about it. No temperature difference or anything like that. There’s a hope that we can figure that out soon. But so long as I can feel a difference in pressures and can still do precise movements then I’m happy. Everything else will just be the cherry on top.”

Mr. Stark has a wistful look on his face as he finishes. But it doesn’t look like someone dreaming of the past but looking forward to the future and Peter can’t blame him. If SI is able to figure out how to make a prosthetic limb operate and feel like a natural limb, it could mean so much for so many people.

And that’s how they spend the next hour or so, discussing SI and the prosthetica team, until a woman walks in wearing a white lab coat carrying a tablet. When she looks up from it her surprise at seeing Peter is clear.

“I’m sorry Tony I wasn’t aware you had a visitor.” She looks over at Mr. Stark with a questioning look.

“Sorry Helen where are my manners. Helen Cho meet Peter Parker, my personal intern.” He looks over to Peter gesturing with his left hand between Peter and Helen. “Peter Parker meet Dr. Helen Cho, world renowned geneticist.” Dr. Cho walks over to the left side of the bed holding her hand out. Peter stands and takes her hand in his, giving it a firm shake before letting go.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you Peter. Forgive my surprise but I wasn’t aware that Tony had a personal intern.” here she looks down at Mr. Stark, who just shrugs his shoulders.

“He was just brought on today.” is all the answer Mr. Stark gives her. Dr. Cho seems to be appeased by that answer and starts looking at the IV bag and line, checking to make sure both are empty. Once satisfied she starts to take the needle out of Mr. Starks arm. Speaking as she did it.

“Alright Tony that’s the final infusion. If our theories are correct we should start to see the final fusion to your DNA within the next 24-48 hours.” Peter’s head snaps to Mr. Stark at hearing that. With all of his questions about the arm and SI as a whole he hadn’t thought once to ask what was in the bag and now he’s learning that whatever it is it’s fusing to Mr. Starks DNA. Mr. Stark looks over to him at his movement with a bored expression on his face and waving his right hand.

“Don’t worry about it kid, I’ll explain it later.” Dr. Cho continues like she hadn’t been interrupted. 

“During those 24-48 hours I am  _ ordering  _ you to bed rest and limited visitors. Preferably only Ms. Potts, Col. Rhodes, and anyone on my team. I won’t force you to stay here in MedBay during that time but I am confining you to the penthouse and the penthouse  _ only.  _ Am I clear on this Mr. Stark?”

She’s looking at Mr. Stark with a challenging look, like she wants him to argue her orders. But Mr. Stark for his part givers her a smile and just simply nods his head.

“Crystal clear Doc, you’re the one here with more knowledge on what’s happening than I do and I will bow to that knowledge. So if you say rest and limited visitors, then rest and limited visitors is what I will do.”

Dr. Cho gives Mr. Stark a hard stare for a moment, like she’s trying to decide if he’s lying or not before giving a deep sigh and nodding.

“Alright then Tony you’re all done here, you can head back up and get started on that rest I’m ordering you to take.” Mr. Stark gives her a small salute as he stands up.

“Yes ma’am!” Mr. Stark gives her a big smile before continuing. “I’ll see you tomorrow Helen. Have a good night.” with that Mr. Stark puts a hand on Peter’s shoulder and starts to walk out of the room. Giving a small wave over his shoulder. As soon as they’re in the elevator Mr. Stark starts speaking again.

“When we get up to the penthouse you can either change back into your suit and swing home. Or, I can call happy and have him take you home, your call.” He’s looking down at Peter with a questioning eyebrow raised. Peter thinks for a moment before deciding. 

“I’ll swing home. I’ve been sitting for a little too long and I’ve got a lot of pent up energy to burn.” Mr. Stark gives a nod and they step off the elevator. Mr. Stark drops the hand he had on Peters shoulder and again Peter finds himself missing that weight but shakes it off as he heads back to the same bedroom again. Once inside he puts the suit back on and walks back out to find Mr. Stark on sitting on the couch before standing up once he heard Peter coming down the hall.

“I’ll give your Aunt a call and set up a day for you to come over and all that. I’ll also send along all the NDAs and contracts you’ll need to sign along with any information you’ll need or that I forgot to give you today.” Mr. Stark looks around the living room like he’s making sure he isn’t forgetting anything before turning back to Peter.

“Alright kiddo, I think it’s time for you to start heading home. It’s getting late and spider-babies need their sleep.” Mr. Stark gives him a toothy grin. 

“Mr. Stark I told you! It’s Spider  _ Man _ .” Peter says with a groan. Mr. Stark just chuckles.

“Coulda fooled me kid. Alright, get out of here. I’ll see you soon alright? Be safe.” With that Peter gives a smile and a nod before putting on his mask and walking over to one of the floor to ceiling windows that had just opened, makes sure his backpack is secure, turns around and gives a salute much like Mr. Stark gave to Dr. Cho, and leaps out of the window with a ‘ _ Whoop! _ ’ and shoots a web. The whole way home he can’t keep the smile off his face.


	2. Gravedancer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony wakes up with a start, the remnants of his nightmare still floating in his mind. There's a hand on his chest and he immediately throws his right arm out calling for a gauntlet before he can even make out the words being spoken to him. 
> 
> "Tony. Tony hey easy sweetheart it's me. It's Pepper, you're ok, you're safe, you're in your bedroom in the tower. You're not in any danger." she sounds panicked which seems to be the thing that breaks through Tony's own panic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Here's an early gift to those of you who celebrate Christmas and a gift for the third night of Hanukkah! 
> 
> I hope y'all enjoy!  
> As always comments are welcomed!  
> See y'all next week!

Tony watches Peter as he swings away. Glad that he could look at at least one suit he’s built and not feel the need to tear it down to its base parts. But maybe it has something to do with the kid wearing it. He stands at the window for a while after his shifting eyesight loses Peter. He’s getting dizzy between his sight shifting, his hearing going from normal to all encompassing, his sense of smell only picking up the faint traces of coffee to picking up the faint traces of Peppers perfume, even though she hadn’t been there in days. He can feel the individual beads of sweat rolling down his back. It’s all starting to get disorienting.

“Boss I’m detecting increased temperature and signs of distress. Would you like me to call someone?” FRIDAYS voice makes him cringe like he’s been hit with how loud it is. He shakes his head.

“No, Fri. And lower your volume by forty percent baby girl. Got a feeling there’s gonna be a learning curve with all this. You said I have an increase in my temp, what is it now?” When FRIDAY answers this time it’s at a much more manageable level.

“Yes Boss, your current temperature is 101.7 and appears to be rising. I suggest a cold shower and fluids to help combat it.” Tony nods his head at that. He should probably take that advice, but he told the kid he’d call his aunt and he’d really rather go ahead and get that out of the way now instead of letting loom over his head while he let’s Extremis run its course. 

“Baby girl do we have the contact information for May Parker on file?” 

“Yes Boss, but I still believe-” Tony gives a sigh before speaking up.

“I know Fri, I know. But I just want this done so I can actually shut my brain off and actually rest. If I don’t do it now I’ll be thinking about it the whole time.” FRIDAY’s silent for a moment after that. He doesn’t blame her for wanting him to take care of himself immediately. She had seemed to have added some subroutines on her own to her base code during the time he was in Siberia. They all seem to be tied to making sure he’s healthy and safe. Tony thinks it’s touching really.

“....Would you like for me to call Mrs. Parker Boss?” Tony just nods his head. He hears the dial tone and it’s also blissfully quieter too. He heads to the kitchen for his water bottle as the line rings. 

“Hello this is May Parker.” Tony gives a small smile. She sounded just like Peter and he figures the kid gets it from her.

“Hello Mrs. Parker, this is Tony Stark.” even in the state he’s in he manages to pull off his public speaking voice and he’s a little proud of himself for it.

“Mr. Stark! What a surprise! I didn’t expect to hear from you again so soon!” and really who can blame Tony for smiling when he’s reminded of Peter again. These Parkers were something else.

“Yes well, I’ve had many interns and employees come up to me over the past few weeks after the retreat telling me how impressed and amazed they were by Peter. And I am too even with what little time I was given to spend with him.” that’s as close as he’s going to get to mentioning the airport right now. “And from what everyone has told me, I’d be remiss in not finding somewhere for Peter here at the company. And I have to say I agree.”

“Oh Mr. Stark that’s so kind of you! Really, Peter would be thrilled to hear that! Did you have something in mind?” Tony takes that chance to take a swig of water and to whip off his face. FRIDAY pulls up a holoscreen that displays his temperature. It’s currently sitting at 102.3. Still he soldiers on.

“As a matter of fact, I do! I’d like to offer Peter the position of my personal intern. From what I’ve heard and seen Peter displayed great intelligence but also an eagerness to learn along with a kindness that is so often rarely seen these days. With your permission I’d like to help guide him along whatever path he chooses to use those traits and skills for.” That was more than he had planned to say but it was all true so he won’t think too much on it. The line goes silent for a moment before May speaks again.

“That’s very kind of you Mr. Stark and I would love to say yes immediately, but, you have to understand that Peter's safety is my top priority and you don’t lead the safest life.” the fact of the matter is Tony does understand that. It’s why he’s torn down every suit he had the moment he was able to. He doesn’t feel much like being Iron Man at the moment.

“Mrs. Parker I can assure that Peter’s safety would be my top priority as well. And as far as my lifestyle goes; Iron Man will be taking an extended leave of absence from the heroics scene. As of right now I’d like to focus on myself, and my company. And I believe Peter would be a great deal of help with both of those.” Tony whips his face again, glancing at the display and seeing that his temperature has gone up again and is now sitting at 102.7. He really needs this to end quickly but he can’t rush it, he’s walking a delicate line right now and it requires patience and precision. The line goes silent once more before Tony hears an exhale.

“Alright Mr. Stark I believe you. Alright you have my permission. Really I’d be insane to turn down that offer, but I hope you understand I would if it meant keeping Peter safe.” It’s at this moment that Tony hates himself just that much more for lying to her still. But he had promised the kid not to tell her and for whatever reason he finds himself not wanting to break that trust that Peter had given to him.

“I absolutely understand Mrs. Parker. Now I was thinking that for now we could make it just one day and see how it goes. He has school coming up soon yes?”

“He starts this coming Monday actually.” Tony gives a nod.

“Does he have any after school activities that he’s already a part of?” He already knows about Spider-Maning but he’s hoping that maybe these internship days can help curb those a little.

“He has Academic Decathlon practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3-5 PM.” Tony lets out a small hum.

“What about Fridays after school?”

“Fridays would actually work great. My job is offering longer shifts on those and I’d like to be able to take them. I’d get off shift at 8:00 instead of my usual 4:00 and I don’t like the idea of Peter being alone for that amount of time” Tony gives a few nods.

“That would be fine. Either I or my head of security can pick him up from school and drop him off at your apartment. I can make sure he eats and maybe help him with his homework. Not many kids can say they get Tony Stark to help with their calculus homework.” He gives a small chuckle and May returns it.

“Really Mr. Stark that would be wonderful and Peter would be so thrilled.”

“Well then that settles it. Now as much as I’d like to bring the paperwork necessary myself, I’m going to be ...preoccupied this weekend with other commitments so I’ll send a courier with them. To give you the short of it, they’ll be standard company NDAs basically stating that Peter wouldn’t be allowed to discuss anything he works on outside of SI unless given express permission and things of that nature. Nothing nefarious, I can promise you that. I’ll also throw in extra copies of everything so you can read over them yourself. Just have Peter sign those and bring them with him Friday and we’ll get everything else sorted.”

He whips his face again and sees his temperature hit 103. He has to end this call in the next thirty seconds or FRIDAY would do it for him.

“That sounds great Mr. Stark. Thank you so much, Peter is going to be so excited.”

“The only thanks I require Mrs. Parker is for you to call me Tony.”

“It’s a deal so long as you call me May.” Tony gives a small smile. Maybe it’ll be that easy with Peter. Though he finds himself thinking that’s probably a wistful thought. 

“Sounds good May, Now you have my personal number. If you have any questions about the paperwork please don’t hesitate to call. And I will make my best effort to get back to you as soon as I can.”

“Thank you Tony, and thank you again for giving Peter this chance. Have a good weekend.”   
  
“You too May.” 

And with that the call is ended and Tony catches himself on the kitchen island before he can face plant on it. His whole body is trembling with fever and his senses are totally out of wack now, his skin feels sensitive to the touch, and he’s dizzy.

“Boss you need to get your fever down. Please finish your water and take a shower I’ll let Dr. Cho’s team know what’s happening.” Tony nods his head as he carefully makes his way to his bedroom.

“Maybe don’t mention why it took me so long to do all this yea baby girl?” for her part FRIDAY sounds like she’s considering going against that request but she replies all the same.

“Yes Boss.” he makes it to his bathroom without incident and begins the careful process of stripping down for the lukewarm shower that’s already running before a thought hits him.

“Oh and Fri, schedule one of our private couriers to be sent to the Parkers apartment tomorrow after four pm. And let Pep know that all I need her to do is print out two of the usual forms and to give them to the courier.”

“On it Boss” he angles his head over to the camera in the corner of the room and gives it a smile.

“You’re the best baby girl. Thank you.”

Finally he gets into the shower and the lukewarm water feels like heaven on his fever sensitive skin. He just stands there for a while and lets the water wash away the sweat and the stresses of the past month. He goes through his routine, running fully on autopilot at this point, letting his mind slowly shut down as he prepares his body for a much needed sleep.

Once he gets out of the shower and is dried off, he puts on a pair of sleep shorts and decides to forego a shirt as his skin still feels sensitive to the touch. He’s still drying his hair off with a towel when he walks into his bedroom. When Tony looks up, he’s only slightly surprised to see Helen standing there. As soon as she sees Tony she looks him over critically, looking for any physical changes and noting that it appears that his abdominals are looking more toned than they had when they had bandaged his chest and the scar on his chest has started to fade to a white that it would only achieve normally after years of healing. Helen gives a small nod and makes a gesture towards the bed.

“I believe I gave you very strict instructions of  _ resting _ when I sent you up here Tony.” Tony gives Helen a sheepish smile and shrugs.

“Sorry Doc, there was a documentary on and it caught my interest. Won’t happen again though, scouts honor.” Helen gives a small snort as he pulls the blankets back and climbs into bed. His body immediately wanting to fall asleep, but he fights to stay awake at least until Helen does a quick check over.

“You were never a scout Tony. Alright, let's check you over, I can see you fighting a losing battle against sleep.” and with that Helen makes quick work of checking his pulse, blood pressure, blood oxygen, and his lungs. All look better than they have in years. She checks his eyes next and he flinches back from the penlight when it hits his eye. Helen looks concerned but doesn’t say anything before moving on. She stands back up from where she had sat on the side of the bed.

“Alright Tony, everything appears to be in order. We expected the fever, but so long as it stays below 103.5 we should be ok. I’m gonna have FRIDAY keep track of that and send it down to the monitors in the MedBay. If it starts to spike again then we’ll deal with it. But for now my orders don’t change, rest and fluids.”

Tony gives a nod and takes a drink from his freshly filled water bottle. He didn’t do that but he’s not gonna mention it. Helen would deny it even if he knows it’s her way of showing she cares. 

“Alright, I’ll leave you for now. If everything stays within predicted range then one of us from the team will be up here in a few hours to check you over again. If it doesn’t stay within predicted range we’ll be up here sooner. Now get some sleep.” With that she collects her things and walks out the door shutting it quietly behind her.

“Fri, activate Lights Out Protocall. Add soundproofing the room to that as well.” With that the sounds from outside the room go blissfully quiet and the windows darken to not allow any light from outside to come through.

Tony lets out a deep sigh as he burrows deeper into his pillows. His last thoughts while awake drifting to the smiling face of Peter Parker as he examines his new arm.

\---- 

_ He's laying on the ground, Steve on top of him, punching him repeatedly on the head. His head that's supposed to be protected by the helmet, but is instead slamming into the back of his helmet making him see stars from the force of it. His helmet is ripped off, revealing the first proper look at Steve without the interface since before this whole fight started.  _

_ His eyes are an icy blue, as cold as the snow and ice surrounding them. Steve brings the shield up but this time instead of bringing it down on his chest it goes straight for the neck.  _

Tony wakes up with a start, the remnants of his nightmare still floating in his mind. There's a hand on his chest and he immediately throws his right arm out calling for a gauntlet before he can even make out the words being spoken to him. 

"Tony. Tony hey easy sweetheart it's me. It's Pepper, you're ok, you're safe, you're in your bedroom in the tower. You're not in any danger." she sounds panicked which seems to be the thing that breaks through Tony's own panic. 

"Pep?" he lowers his right arm remembering that he doesn't have a suit to call upon. 

"Yea, yea Tony it's me. You back with me?" Peppers voice sounds a little watery now. Tony turns his head in the direction her voice is coming from. She's sitting on the side of the bed, hand pressed in the center of his chest. Right where the reactor used to be. He lets out a shuddering breath bringing his left hand up to grip hers. 

"Yea. Yea I'm with you. Sorry didn't mean to scare you." he gives her what he hopes is a reassuring smile. Pepper gives him a smile back and grips his hand tighter.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." he gives a small noncommittal hum. Pepper keeps speaking "Here sit up we need to get some fluids in you." he does as he's told. 

"what time is it?" he hadn't realized that FRIDAY would shut off his clock as well when he asked for lights out but Tony finds himself glad she did. Pepper hands him his water bottle. 

"it's a little after 3:30 in the morning. I was coming to check on you after my conference call with our shareholders in Japan. When I came in you were having what looked like a pretty bad nightmare." Tony gives a nod, letting his head rest against the headboard. Closing his eyes as his body is wracked with chills. “Fri, what’s Tony's temperature right now?” Tony opens his eyes a crack to see her watching with concern clearly etched across her face.

“Boss’s current temperature is 102.4 Ms. Potts. It is recommended that applying an ice pack or a cold cloth to major artery points to help bring down his temperature.” Pepper nods and stands, walking to the bathroom, coming back a few moments later with a damp cloth. She wraps the cloth around his neck and Tony can’t help but give a sigh of relief of feeling something so cold against his skin.

“How are you feeling Tony, and the truth please.” She gives him a small smile. Knowing him well enough to know that a sarcastic response was on the tip of his tongue.

He gives her a smile “I’ve felt a lot worse Pep, honest truth. So far it seems the response has been well within Helen’s predictions. So all I have to do is let Extremis run its course and then we’re in the clear. For a moment at least.” His smile drops as he thinks about the fact that he’s going to have to register his new status with the Accords Council. 

Tony is brought out of his thoughts by a soft hand on his face “Hey, wherever that massive brain of yours just went, bring it back. Those are issues for later, focus on right now alright? You’re still healing. Just focus on that for right now ok?” Pepper’s pleading with him. She’s never done that. He feels his eyes well up for the first time during this whole process.

Tony grips her hand in his bringing it to his lips as the first tears roll down his face.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m  _ so sorry _ .” he repeats it again and again his voice breaking in his grief and pain. The pain he’s caused those around him, those closest to him. He had only been trying to protect them. Trying to do right by them. He hadn’t wanted to cause them so much grief and pain. But, Pepper doesn’t let him go, instead she draws him into a hug and holds him tight as he breaks into tiny pieces. 

But Tony’s a Stark. And while his father might’ve had a different meaning behind the words, they still ring true; Starks are made of iron. Let him be broken, let him be heated by the fires of Extremis, he will reforge himself. If he thinks hard enough he can hear the sounds of the hammer ringing in that cave in Afghanistan. 

For the first time in months Tony falls asleep in Peppers arms.

\-----

_ Rhodey’s falling.  _

_ He shouldn’t be falling, but he is.  _

_ He’s falling to fast, isn’t correcting his trajectory or speed.  _

_ His suit doesn’t have power.  _

_ He falls for what feels like an eternity, and yet no matter how much time he’s given Tony just can’t reach him. Gets there just a little to slowly.  _

_ Rhodey hits the ground and Tony’s world shatters. _

He wakes up and bolts upright, his chest heaving with his heavy breathing, eyes wild and frantically searching. Searching for something to save his brother. His hearing picks up a heartbeat first, a calm steady heart beat. A heartbeat that even without the super hearing he knows like the back of his hand. He feels a steady weight on his shoulder next, a hand calloused with use, feels the scar on the index finger that he knows the story behind. An accident in the MIT labs with a screwdriver and one too many beers. Next he makes out a voice, a voice that has meant safety to him for so many years. A voice that can break through his panic. 

"-athe Tony, that's it. Deep breathe in and then out. You can do it." Rhodey exaggerates his breath. His voice is calm and collected. Everything that Tony isn't right now. 

Tony tries to draw in a deep breath but it gets caught in his throat. He starts coughing instead, Rhodey just moves his hand to his back, rubbing it up and down in a soothing pattern. 

"Easy Tones, you’re alright. Slow inhale remember?” 

Tony nods his head and tries again, breathing in much slower. Luckily it doesn’t get caught in his throat this time and he’s able to take a full deep breath. Almost immediately his heart starts to beat a little slower. He lets it out slowly and repeats the actions a few more times before he’s finally able to calm down enough to let the tension out of his muscles. Tony lets his back hit the headboard, turning his head to see that Rhodey is sitting on his bed beside him, wheelchair positioned beside the bed, his tablet on his lap, opened to what looks like a book.

Rhodey’s dressed in the same comfortable clothes he’s been sporting since he got out of the hospital. Says if he has to sit in a wheelchair all day then he might as well be comfortable doing so. Tony can’t blame his logic, but if Tony has anything to say about it then Rhodey won’t be stuck to the confines of the wheelchair forever. He’s a mechanic after all, and mechanics fix things.

“W-” Tony has to clear his throat, surprised at how rough his voice sounds, before he tries again. “What are you reading?” his question is quiet, any louder and he feels like it’ll break the fragile peace that they had just built around themselves. 

Rhodey looks down at his tablet tapping to bring up the book cover and angling it so Tony could see it. Tony isn’t really all that surprised to see it’s  _ The Hobbit _ , it’s been Rhodey’s favorite book his whole life. He’d read it during stressful times at MIT like finals or when they were working on a difficult project. Always claimed that since he knew the story that he didn’t have to worry about missing something. That it was more about giving his brain a small distraction. Tony turns his head back up to Rhodey and gives him a smile, though he thinks it might come across as a grimace.

“Asking was a dumb question wasn’t it?” Rhodey just gives him a snort. Tony let’s his head fall to rest on Rhodey’s shoulder, he doesn’t remember the last time they had ended up in a position like this. But it’s nice, it’s peaceful and quiet. There are no expectations, just a strong current of love and support.

“How long have I been out?” Rhodey gives a hum as he looks at his watch.

“You were going on hour 12 when you woke up. By the way don’t think you can hide the shivering from me, I know you still have a fever. Small Fri told me your temp was climbing before you woke up. You’re at 103.1.”

Tony just turns his head and hides his face in Rhodey’s shoulder. 

“Isn’t that getting a little close to worrisome?” Tony can hear the fear clear as day, even if it isn’t loud. He shakes his head, his answer muffled by Rhodey’s shirt.

“It’s within Helen’s predictions. Don’t worry I’m sure they have a team full of people down there in MedBay monitoring it.” Rhodey gives a hum, seemingly deciding that he doesn’t want to ask anymore questions. Tony would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little grateful for it. He can feel Rhodey pick up his tablet and starts reading again, it isn’t long before he finds himself falling back asleep surrounded by the smell that is distinctly Rhodey and feels like home.

\----

After that Tony has what feels like surreal and blurry memories of people coming in and out of his bedroom. Something cold being placed at points along his body, a sharp prick in his left arm, a bright light shining in his eyes. There are other things, of that Tony’s sure, but they’re just too blurry to really make out, almost like they’re covered in a thick fog. When he does finally wake up again it’s still dark and silent in his room, he looks over to the windows and can tell that it’s daylight out, but the thick tint on the windows keeps the light out. He turns his head a little further and he sees an IV pole with a bag hanging from it, he follows the line down to the point where it ends to see it ends in his elbow on his left side.

Tony gives a small frown at that, he doesn’t think those were there the last time he woke up. In fact, he’s very sure the last time he woke up he was sitting with Rhodey. He looks around the room, noticing the the chair beside the right side of his bed. Sees the empty coffee mug there on his nightstand. 

Tony decides to lay there for a moment longer, to take stock on how he’s feeling, and if he’s being honest with himself; he feels amazing. His skin no longer feels sensitive to the touch, his sense of sight, smell, and hearing all feel like they’ve been dialed up a few notches. Though he doesn’t know if they’re as high as Peters. He no longer has the aches and pains of a body that has been put through a lifetime of abuse in one way or another, compounded with getting older. He brings his left hand up to touch his chest to find that the scarring there is smooth like he’s had it for the last twenty years instead of the actual month. He thinks Helen is going to have a field day with all of this. 

It’s as he’s finally sitting up that he hears the door handle click open before seeing light bleed in from outside and a figure walk in.

“It’s good to see you awake Tony, are you coherent and with us this time around?” It’s Helen which he really isn’t surprised by. Tony gives his neck a stretch getting the satisfying pops he was hoping before nodding his head.

“Yea, I’m with you. I take things went outside of the predicted range?” he scratches his check and is surprised by how much facial hair there is there. While he might not have to shave everyday he usually did every two days if he wanted to keep his goatee in order. But this? This feels like a weeks worth. Something that he’d only ever get if he was on an extended bender in the lab. He rubs his jaw noticing he has a decent, albeit short beard going.

“No, they didn’t. After sleeping for 14 hours your fever spiked to 103.9 and you had started to hallucinate. You kept asking where Yinsen was. We had to get it down fast or else there was a risk of brain damage so we let you soak for a solid 2 hours before it came down to a manageable 101.5. After that we kept ice packs at all your major artery points. Your fever finally broke this morning.” Helen sits down in the chair and looks him over, nodding her head as if satisfied with what she sees.

“How long have I been out?” Tony’s still rubbing his jaw, a little mesmerised by the hair there. He keeps going until he notices Helen watching with a small smile on her face. He lowers his hand and looks her in the eye, raising an eyebrow.

“You were out for three days. Seems that the Extremis bonding to your DNA also meant it could finally heal other things in your body and that’s why your fever spiked. But now that it’s fully fused and has had a chance to work it’s magic your body is now like that of a man in his prime. It’s quite fascinating honestly. He shakes his head at Helen, leave it to her to find this whole situation ‘fascinating’. He nods towards the IV bag.

“What was that for?”

“Oh we couldn’t get you to keep any fluids down so we had to give them to you through IV, I was actually on my way up to take it out because I figured you would be waking up soon.” With that she stands up and pulls out a pair of gloves from her lab coat pocket and takes the needle out of his arm. Before she can even put the cotton ball on it to keep it from bleeding, the small hole starts healing and is closed in seconds. They both look up at one another with wide eyes.

“That is going to take some serious getting used to.” He feels a little manic after seeing that. So much of his world has finally shifted after seeing one of his new abilities in action. He lets out a small laugh and runs his right hand through his hair. “Well at least we know the healing factor works well!” and he can even hear the slight manic edge to his voice. But Helen just nods and steps away from the bed.

Suddenly Tony feels like he has enough energy running through him that he could give the arc reactors a run for their money. He pushes the blankets away and stands. Noticing how grimey he feels he starts walking towards his bathroom, only to stop when Helen calls his name.

“What are you doing?” He turns around to give and gives her a smile.

“Well first I’m gonna shower, I feel like I have two days worth of sweat and grime covering me. Second, I’m gonna brew myself a nice cup of coffee and eat very large breakfast, I feel like I could eat a horse and still be hungry. And third, I’m going to build Rhodey some new legs.” With that he turns on his heal and walks into his bathroom. He’s wasted enough time dancing around the grave. It's time he gets his brother up and mobile again. 

__


	3. In Flux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The week that follows Peter's visit to the tower is one of the most surreal weeks of his life. When he walked through the door of the apartment May had been sitting on the couch staring at her phone with wide eyes. When he closed the door she looked at Peter with a look filled with so much surprise that even he wasn’t sure what had happened.
> 
> “I just got off the phone with Tony Stark. The Tony Stark, I know he was here in the apartment but it’s still strange to say that.” She looks back down at her phone for a minute before turning back to Peter. “He said…he said he wants to offer you the position of his personal intern.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year y'all! Here's the update! We're coming up on one of my favorite chapters. Speaking of chapters I'm currently writing chapter 7 but I've been a little stalled out over the holiday. In part because of the holidays, but also because my gift from my family was a PS4 so I've been doing a lot more gaming than I've done in months. Which is time I had been putting towards writing for this project and a few others. 
> 
> With that said I should still have ch 7 and 8 done within the next week and a half.
> 
> Alright folks! Hope you enjoy and as always comments are always welcomed!

The week that follows Peter's visit to the tower is one of the most surreal weeks of his life. When he walked through the door of the apartment May had been sitting on the couch staring at her phone with wide eyes. When he closed the door she looked at Peter with a look filled with so much surprise that even he wasn’t sure what had happened.

“I just got off the phone with Tony Stark. The Tony Stark, I know he was here in the apartment but it’s still strange to say that.” She looks back down at her phone for a minute before turning back to Peter. “He said…he said he wants to offer you the position of his personal intern.”

Even though Peter is aware of this fact, it still brings up an indescribable feeling of joy for him. He had taken a few extra minutes in the alleyway to school his features into a more neutral look that he would usually have. But with May bringing it up he can’t help the wide smile that splits his face.He doesn’t have to fake his excitement for this.

“Oh my god you’re kidding! You have to be!” He walks further into the living room, setting his backpack down on the couch as May stands up holding her phone out to him. Showing her call logs and at the top is an unsaved number. Peter’s eyes widen even more, Mr. Stark had called only a few minutes after he had left.

“Holy shit you aren’t lying! This is insane!” Peter does truly think it’s insane and while he doesn’t have to fake his excitement and surprise, he apparently doesn’t have to fake his insecurities either. “But why me? I mean he probably has tons of people he could make his personal intern. So why me? I didn’t even really get to spend a lot of time with him in Germany.” 

Aunt May puts her phone down on the coffee table and wraps her arms around Peter’s shoulders, bringing him into a tight hug. He buries his face into her shoulder, slightly embarrassed that he had let his insecurities flow out into the open. May slides a hand into his hair, scratching slightly at his scalp.

“He told me that he had a lot of his employees come to him and tell him how amazing you were. And that despite the fact that he didn’t get to spend a lot of time with you, he couldn’t have agreed more with them.” She gives a gentle sigh before pulling back far enough to cup his face in both her hands. “If I’m being honest with you Pete he didn’t sound good. I think this whole ‘Civil War’ nonsense has really hurt him. In more ways than we know. He even said that he was stepping back from being Iron Man for a while.”

Peter doesn’t fake his shock at that. Sure he had seen him only 30 minutes ago and he knew that he looked rough. But he had seemed somewhat happy at least, joking with Peter as they talked. Laughing and smiling, even if his smilies were tinged with an edge of exhaustion. Peter had assumed that he would finish up with whatever he was doing and get right back out there in the armor. But if what Aunt May is saying is true, and he has no reason to doubt her, then that doesn’t sound like the case. He can feel his worry growing again, but he tries to keep it down for now. At least in front of May. May keeps going, unaware of the reason behind Peter’s surprise at her statement. 

“I know I thought the same thing as you. But I honestly think he’s telling the truth. Anyway, he said that he’d be sending over the papers you’d need to sign before starting. You start on Friday after school and you’ll stay there until around eight, when I get off my shift. He said he wanted to start off with one day at a time for now, so maybe he’d up the days after a while?” May trails off after that. “Anyway you hungry? Cause I know I am and I was thinking we should go get Thai as a celebratory meal. Whatda say?” 

Peter perks up “Thai sounds really good!” 

May nods her head, walks over to the coat rack where her purse is hanging and opening the door motioning for Peter to lead the way.

\-----

The next day there’s a knock at the door a few minutes after May had walked in from work. She’s still in the kitchen making herself a cup of tea after a particularly hard shift so Peter decides to get the door. When he opens it he’s met with a woman wearing bike riding gear and wearing a backpack. Peter thinks she looks like a courier he sees riding all over the city. And his theory is confirmed when she speaks.

“Hi, I have a delivery for a Peter Parker from Stark Industries?”

“I’m Peter Parker.”

“Oh great, if you could just sign here please, that would be great.” she holds out a tablet and pen, so he signs and she takes out a manila envelope and hands it to him. Before quickly turning around walking away at a swift pace calling over her shoulder. “Have a great day!” he can’t even get a response out before she’s disappearing down the stairwell.

He’s closing the door as May walks out of the kitchen “Who was it sweetie?”

“It was a courier from Stark Industries. She was delivering this to me.” Peter holds up the envelope.

“Oh, that must be the paperwork that Mr. Stark mentioned. Grab a pen and bring them over to the kitchen table so we can read over everything easier.” Peter nods his head before heading to his room for a pen and walking over to the kitchen table. 

Peter opens the envelope and carefully removes everything from inside it. It looks to be a lot of legal documents, but on top there’s a folded piece of paper with his name on it. When he opens it there’s only one sentence and a set of initials at the bottom.

_ Peter, _

_ Can’t wait to work with you. _

_ T.S. _

Peter would be lying if he said he wasn’t surprised at the note. It might not be long but it didn’t need to be. It felt perfect in what it was conveying. Peter was smiling as May leaned over his shoulder to read the note.

“Aw that’s nice of him. Not very long, but still nice.” 

Peter nods his head and carefully folds the note and sets it off to the side as he and May get to work on the paperwork.

\-----

Monday comes and with it the start of the new school year. The start of sophomore year. He doesn’t know why but he thought it would feel different being a sophomore compared to a freshman, but it doesn’t. His classes are about what he expected, even at an AP level they aren’t too difficult. He can see APUSH getting annoying but he’ll cross that bridge when he gets to it. Academic Decathlon goes really well, Peter manages to secure a spot on the team, but it comes at the cost of Flash’s spot. He isn’t too worried about it but it seems Flash is. After the roaster had been announced flash had made it a point to be even more of a dick to Peter than he had been last year. If that’s even possible.

Friday finally comes and Peter can honestly say he’s never been this excited for a friday in his life. He’s been looking forward to this since his phone call with Ms. Potts and it’s finally here. He’ll get to spend a whopping five hours with Mr. Stark. Which Peter truly thinks it’s insane that Mr. Stark agreed to having him over for five hours. He had thought maybe it would be one, two hours at the most, but it seemed that May had somehow convinced the man to give Peter five hours. When Peter had asked May about it she had just said that Mr. Stark had suggested Friday and she had told him that she would be working longer shifts on that day and he had agreed. No questions asked. 

Peter’s sitting in chemistry, by far his favorite class this year, and he’s trying to focus, really he is. But he can’t stop thinking about going to the tower today. He’s distractedly doodling in his notebook but apparently that isn’t the only thing he’s doing.

“Dude, are you alright? You haven’t stopped tapping your leg almost all day.” Ned leans over and whispers.

Peter jumps a little, lost in his own head and not paying attention to his surroundings. He makes a conscious effort to still his leg before turning to Ned.

“Yea sorry man. Just ready for the weekend I guess.” Peter hasn’t told Ned about the internship. He doesn’t really have a way to do so without also revealing he’s Spider-Man and he doesn’t want to do that. 

Ned gives him a look “Why? Do you have plans or something?”

“Uh yea. Yea just some stuff with May.”

Ned gives him a slightly disbelieving look but he doesn’t get a chance to say anything.

“Mr. Leeds, Mr. Parker. Am I boring you?” Their teacher, Mrs. Anderson is staring at them over her shoulder, marker raised above the board.

Peter's the first to recover, shaking his head. “No Mrs. Anderson.”

“Then please, no more talking.”

Peter shoots Ned a look, who looks properly guilty for starting the conversation in the first place. He keeps up the effort to keep his legs still for the rest of class so he won’t draw more attention to himself. Of course that’s thrown out the window when Peter’s phone vibrates in his pocket,he pulls it out to make sure it isn’t May telling him something. What he wasn’t expecting is to see a text from Mr. Hogan, he quickly opens it and reread it a couple times.

**Mr. Hogan:** _Hey kid it’s Happy. I’m in the back parking lot in a black Audi. Come find me when you leave._

Peter quickly sends happy a thumbs up emoji before putting his phone back in his jeans pocket. Noting the time said 2:55. It feels like the longest five minutes of his life but finally,  _ finally _ , the bell rings ending the school day. Peter’s quick to put his things in his backpack before quickly standing.

“Dude where are you going in such a hurry?” Ned asks as he’s still getting his things together. 

“Sorry! Just really ready to get this homework done so I don’t have to worry about it this weekend with May.” Peter’s bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to dart out the door and to the back parking lot so he can be on his way to his first day at the tower.

Ned shoots him another disbelieving look again before shaking his head and looking up at Peter “Alright then, I’ll text you later. Mom said she and I could go look at some lego sets tomorrow and I think I should get our next big project piece.”

Peter nods his head “Sure man, sounds good. Just text me yea? I’ll see you Monday!” with that Peter turns around and quickly makes his way to the door. He’s stopped just right outside the door when he runs into someone. 

“Jesus Penis, watch where you’re fucking going next time.” Of course it had to be Flash. He doesn’t have time for this.

“Sorry Flash” he gives the quick apology and doesn’t stick around to hear whatever smartass remark Flash will come back with.

He makes his way to the back lot and finds the car he’s looking for sitting in the back corner of the lot. He feels like he’s nearly jogging with how fast he’s walking. But, finally, Peter gets to the car. Mr. Hogan has the window down slightly, when he sees Peter heading his way he points his thumb over his shoulder towards the backdoor. Peter quickly slides into the backseat and shuts the door.

“Hi Mr. Hogan! Thanks so much for picking me up. You would not believe how long this week has been. It honestly felt like someone took time and stretched it out to make this the longest week there’s ever been.” Peter stops himself. He was this close to a full on rant and he didn’t want that again.

Mr. Hogan for his part just looks at him in the rearview mirror with a raised eyebrow.

“Yea kid, I’m sure this is the longest week there’s ever been. I have no doubt. And please just call me Happy. I can’t stand being called Mr. Hogan, makes me sound like the owner of a sandwich shop or something.” Mr-Happy sounds a little disgusted at the idea.

Peter gives a smile “Sure thing Happy! And come on owning a sandwich shop wouldn’t be so bad! I bet you’re a really good cook!” He genuinely means it. There’s just something there that screams  _ Chef _ at him.

“And what makes you say that kid?” He looks back up sitting at a red light and Peter shrugs.

“I don’t know really. There’s just something about you that screams chef to me and I’ve learned to trust my instincts.” 

Happy gives a snort before accelerating the car “Well thanks kid, I guess. And you aren’t exactly wrong I guess, though I wouldn’t call myself a chef. I’d call myself a cook I guess. Though I guess if you asked Boss he might say I’m the best chef he never hired as a chef.” He shakes his head as if he’s reliving a fond memory.

The rest of the drive is quiet. Peter’s too keyed up to keep a conversation going now. Before he knows it they’re pulling into a side garage entrance and Happy is parking the car. Happy gets out of the car first and opens the door for Peter.

“C’mon kid, you gotta get your badge before you can head up and I don’t wanna keep Tony waiting. If I hadn’t stopped him, it would have been him picking you up at school and not me. But I get the feeling you didn’t mind having a small buffer?”

Peter grabs his backpack and gets out of the car, shaking his head quickly “I don’t mind the buffer at all. I’m honestly really nervous and I don’t know how I would have reacted to having the Tony Stark picking me up from school.” Happy starts walking to an elevator on the back wall that was hidden by a pillar. He gives a snort as Peter finished his sentence.

“Believe me kid, he wouldn’t have looked like ‘The Tony Stark’ if he had picked you up today. He’s been on a lab bender this week. Which means the last time I saw him he was covered in grease and running on 5 cups of coffee and 3 hours, if that, of sleep. I’m hoping that Rhodes was able to wrangle him into a shower at least. But we’ll see I guess.” He finishes as the elevator doors open into the entrance way, but they’re behind the metal detectors. Happy walks out and Peter follows closely on his heels.

Peter and Happy make their way down a corridor before entering what Peter would describe as a command center that one might see in a movie. There are screens covering a massive wall with video feeds from all over the building. Happy seems to notice his surprise as he turns around.

“Oh, right, forgot you didn’t know about this. FRIDAY monitors the whole building but I still like to keep a physical element to the security process. We have someone in this room 24/7/365. Now come on kid, the sooner we get the badge the sooner you can get up to the lab.” That brings Peter out of his stupor and he begins to follow Happy again.

Happy opens a door that leads into a very nice office, it has the same dark wood floors as the rest of the ground level he’s seen and is furnished with nice, modern furniture. Happy walks over to the desk, motioning Peter to stand to the side where a white canvas has been setup in front of a camera. Peter walks over slightly freaking out, he wasn’t expecting to have his picture taken. If he had known he would have his picture taken he would have worn one of his nicer button up shirts instead of his usual NASA shirt and hoodie. 

Peter makes a vain attempt to smooth down his hair as he steps in front of the camera. Happy seems to pick up on his nerves.

“Breathe Peter. Don’t worry this isn’t going on the badge, this is purely going into your employee file so that we have a face to match the name. The only people that are gonna see it are my guys and they aren’t gonna care what you look like. Just so long as you match the picture.” Peter gives a nod and takes a deep breathe. Happy gives him a countdown from three before there’s a click and a flash. Peter’s rubbing his eyes to try and get rid of the spots floating in his eyes from the flash. “Alright kid, you’re all set. Here’s your badge,” he hands Peter a card with a lanyard on it “I expect to see you wearing any time you aren’t in Tony’s lab or the penthouse. Am I clear on that?” Peter gives a sharp nod and puts the lanyard around his neck.

Happy gives a satisfied nod walking back to the door and holding it open for Peter to walk through. As he’s leading Peter back the way they came, he comes up with a question for Happy.

“You said Mr. Stark was on a ‘lab bender’ do you know what he’s been working on?” Peter wonders if maybe he was building a new armor. Actually finds himself hoping he is.

Happy gives a shake of his head “Sorry kid but I have no idea, I’m no good at the techno mumbo jumbo. I leave that to Boss and his lot. All I know is that he's been working with Rhodey on something. Beyond that I ain’t got a clue.” they reach the elevators by the time he’s finished and the doors open without a button being pushed.

“Alright Peter this is where I’m leaving you, Fri will take you right up to Tony’s lab. Have fun kid and I’ll see you later.” He gives Peter’s shoulder a gentle push into the elevator and waves as the doors close.

The elevator starts to ascend and suddenly the nerves that Peter had been pushing back against successfully come back with a vengeance. Him, Peter Parker, a nobody from Queens is going to be working with Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, the Invincible Iron Man. He has to remind himself that Mr. Stark said he fully agreed with having him as his personal intern. Remind himself of the note that Mr. Stark had sent with the legal paperwork. 

By the time the elevator doors open again he’s managed to calm himself down once more. 

“Boss’s lab is straight ahead Mr. Parker” FRIDAY tells him over the speaker, he jumps a little again, having forgotten about her.

“Thanks FRIDAY. And could you maybe call me Peter instead of Mr. Parker?”

“Sure thing Peter.” Peter gives a sigh of relief before giving his thanks and walking to the door FRIDAY had told him. When he gets about thirty feet away from the door, he can make out two distinct heartbeats. Both of which are steady and strong. When he’s ten feet away he can hear voices though he can’t make out what they’re saying. He stops in front of the door, still hearing the voices but not able to make them out still, which Peter notes as strange but pushes that thought to the side. He takes a deep breath, letting it out as he squares his shoulders and raises his fist to knock on the door. When he knocks the voices stop and then he hears one before the door gives a quite click and opens inwards. Standing in the middle of the room is Mr. Stark, who is standing in front of a man sitting on a red, beat up couch that he quickly makes out as Col. Rhodes.

“Peter! I didn’t even realize you were here already. Man time really gets away from you when you’re having fun, eh, Platypus?” Mr. Stark gives a come in motion while Col. Rhodes just gives a snort and a shake of his head.

“H-hi Mr. Stark! It’s uh, it’s n-nice to s-see you again!” 

_ Fuck _ . That’s all Peter can think after hearing himself stutter through that mess of a sentence. But Mr. Stark for his part doesn’t comment. Instead he gives him a big smile.

“Yea you too kid! I gotta be honest with ya, I’ve been looking forward to this all week” Peter’s a little taken aback at the admission and Mr. Stark looks like he hadn’t exactly meant to say it. But he has a determined look in his eye that Peter doesn’t quite understand. Peter walks further in and stands beside Mr. Stark.

Peter notices that Mr. Starks hair looks dark as does his beard, which he realizes is a beard and not a goatee like usual. Peter finds he likes it all the same though. His irises are fully blue now as well, and they hold a certain glimmer that they didn’t the last time he had seen Mr. Stark. There’s the sound of a clearing throat and Peter jumps a little again. But he relaxed slightly when he feels a hand land on his shoulder, darting his eyes to the side he notes that it is indeed the metal hand. 

“Sorry honeybear didn’t mean to forget my manners. Peter Parker this is James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes. Honeybear this is-”   
  
“Spider-Man” Peter’s eyes widen and he immediately looks at Mr. Stark whose face is totally passive.

“Now why would you say something like that sour patch?”   
  
“Tony, you might be good at lying to just about everyone out there, but you can’t lie to me. Not anymore. You didn’t think I wouldn’t recognize the voice of the kid who called  _ Empire Strikes Back _ an ‘old movie’?” Peter feels the flush running up his face. He risks a glance at Mr. Stark who looks like he’s trying to come up with a plausible answer when Peter makes a snap decision. Ms. Potts had known and had reacted fine. Had even been kind about it. Plus Col. Rhodes is a hero too so surely he would understand too.

“Listen Empire is a pretty old movie compared to a lot of other movies I like. I’m not saying it’s the oldest, just that it is an older movie you know?” Peter can see Mr. Stark snap his head to him with wide eyes before Col. Rhodes lets out a loud and bright laugh before looking back to Mr. Stark.

“Oh you’re about to get so much payback Tones, and I for one, can’t wait to be here to watch it.” Col. Rhodes turns back to Peter. He slowly stands up from the couch on wobbly legs and Mr. Stark is immediately at his side left hand resting on Col Rhodes back as they walk over to Peter again. 

Col. Rhodes brings his hand up and Peter automatically takes it in his. “Nice to meet you…” he trials off so Peter can fill in.

“Peter. Peter Parker sir.”   
  
Col. Rhodes shakes his hand firmly, “Nice to meet you Peter. You can call me Rhodey.”

“It’s nice to meet you too Col. Rhodes.” Most of the time he would call an adult whatever they asked him to. But he feels it’s more appropriate to be a little more formal with Col. Rhodes. The man gives him a smile before turning to Mr. Stark.

“Oh he’s polite! Can we keep him?”

Mr. Stark gives Col Rhodes an unimpressed look and opens his mouth to reply when he’s interrupted by FRIDAY.

“Col. Rhodes, I am to remind you that you have a physical therapy session in five minutes in gym two.” 

Col. Rhodes looks away from Mr. Stark and to his right, over Peter’s shoulder.

“Thanks Small Fri.” he looks back over to Mr. Stark “Well Tony, looks like I’ll be able to give you that feedback you were asking for. Bring my chair over?” Mr. Stark just nods before leading Col. Rhodes back to the couch. He walks to where Col. Rhodes wheelchair was sitting near what looks like a workstation of some type that’s covered in wires and bits of metal. He brings the chair over to where Col. Rhodes is sitting and helps the Colonel up and into his chair, which is when Peter notices something sitting over the mans pants.

“Alright Tones, I’ll see you later. Have fun with the kid, and please, for the love of god, don’t do anything stupid.”

Mr. Stark puts on what Peter thinks is a false look of offence “Sour Patch I am offended that you think I am capable of doing anything stupid. I’ll have you know I am a genius.” Col. Rhodes just gives a snort as he starts rolling away from Mr. Stark.

“Keep telling yourself that!” Col. Rhodes stops beside Peter and looks up at him. “Enjoy yourself kid. But be patient alright? He’s still going through some things and it isn’t easy for him. Don’t worry too much about it, just be aware is all, alright?” 

Peter’s stunned into silence and can only manage to nod his head. Col. Rhodes just gives a smile and pats his arm before rolling himself the rest of the way out of the door that had slid open somehow. Peter’s still staring at the door for a minute or so after it’s closed when he feels a hand land on his shoulder. He nearly jumps out of his skin and the hand is pulled away like it’s been burned. How hadn’t he heard Mr. Stark walking up to him?

“Sorry kid, didn’t mean to startle ya. You alright?” Peter could curse himself with how easily he’s been startled today. He looks up at Mr. Stark and sees a small amount of concern written across his face.

“Oh! Yea! Sorry Mr. Stark, I was just lost in my thoughts and I didn’t hear you come up is all! Not a lot of people can get the jump on me nowadays so I was just surprised is all!” Peter gives Mr. Stark a bright smile as he turns to fully face the man. He watches as Mr. Stark searches his face for a moment before the soften ever so slightly. But then his eyes start to sparkle like he’s an excited kid on Christmas.

“Alright kiddie, did you bring those papers with you? Gonna need those before we can get started on anything.” Mr. Stark raises an eyebrow at him.

“Oh! Yea I got them right here!” He takes his backpack off and puts it on the ground before opening it and bringing out the manila envelope with all the signed papers inside and holds it out to Mr. Stark. The man hesitates a moment, looking torn on taking it and refusing it before taking a deep breathe and taking them from Peter. He must not be able to hide his confusion.

“Sorry kid, I’ve had this...thing about being handed stuff. But I’m trying to work on it.” Peter’s eyes widen in surprise and he feels a small tendril of guilt coil in his stomach.

“Oh! I’m sorry sir! I-I didn’t know or-” Peter cuts himself off when Mr. Stark raises his empty hand.

“It’s fine kid. No one really knows that. But, like I said, I’m trying to work on it. Like Rhodey told ya, you’re just gonna have to be a little patient with me. Got lots of demons to work through.” Peter’s surprised he had heard what the Colonel had said, but he pushes that away for now. Mr. Stark says it on a chuckle though as he turns around and starts walking towards another workstation on the left hand side of the room. This one looking more like an area for paperwork than any mechanical stuff. He makes the gesture for Peter to follow over his shoulder so he does.

“Alright kid, let’s get these scanned and we’ll get started on some basic stuff and then we can go from there.” Mr. Stark pulls out the chair from under the desk but, before he sits down he looks back over at Peter standing near the desk, eyebrows furrowing a little. ‘Jesus, sorry Peter, it’s been awhile since I’ve had anyone new in the lab, I’m used to everyone knowing they can grab a stool or chair when they need it.”

Mr. Stark glances around for a second before he walks over to another area and starts rolling a chair to the desk.

“That’s ok Mr. Stark! I wouldn’t have minded standing, but thank you!” Mr. Stark just gives him a nod as he sits down in his own chair. Peter does the same.

Mr. Stark starts bringing the papers out of the envelope and setting them down on the desk, signature side down. Peter’s confused as to why but quickly gets his answer when the man finishes bringing out all the papers.

“Alright Fri, scan all those into Peter’s file.” Peter gasps when a light comes up from the desk, scanning the area where are the papers sit. It’s the most amazing thing Peter has ever seen.

“ _ Whoa _ ” Peter says it on an exhale, he thought it was quiet, but Mr, Stark looks over at him with a raised eyebrow before seeing him staring at the desk, then he smiles.

“Yea I guess that is pretty cool huh?”

Peter looks up at him with wonder “Mr. Stark, that was so fucking cool!” 

Mr. Starks eyes widen comically before he doubles over in laughter. It takes a while for him to calm down enough to finally speak.

“Kid, I really can’t wait to show you the  _ actual  _ cool stuff.” He’s smiling wide and Peter smiles back just as wide.

  
  



	4. Key to the Empire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “That’s right kid, that little card is basically a key to the empire.” instead of laughing though Peter looks up at Tony with a serious expression.
> 
> “I won’t let you down Mr. Stark.” It’s said with such seriousness that Tony just nods his head. Leave it to this kid to think it's a responsibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter 4! little story about this chapter. I hated it when I wrote it. Just did not like anything about it, but a friend told me to come back to it later. Give myself from distance from it. And boy am I glad she told me that because this is now one of my favorite chapters. I feel it really shows what kind of relationship Tony is building with Peter. Even if he isn't fully aware of it.
> 
> Anyway enough of my rambling. As always I hope y'all enjoy and comments are always welcomed!

Tony turns away from Peter and opens a drawer in the desk and pulls out a box with the latest model StarkPhone and tablet. He places both of them on the desk before turning back to Peter.

“Alright kiddo, first up on the docket is giving you some tools to help you out in this lab and every other lab.” Tony gestures to the boxes on his desk. “A StarkPhone and tablet. It’s company policy that every personal intern to the heads of each department are given these because they’re secure.” Tony watches as Peter closes his mouth, seems he assumed correctly that Peter was gonna protest.

“Alright kid pull your phone out so we can it get cloned over to the new one.” Tony turns back to the phone and starts to take it out of the box. When he doesn’t hear Peter moving he looks over to see him just sitting there staring at him. “Kid?”

Peter comes back to himself and blinks a couple times. “Why would we clone my phone?”

Tony raises an eyebrow at him “So you don’t lose any data?”

“But wouldn’t it just be a work phone?”

_ Ahhh there it is _ is what Tony thinks. He puts the phone back down and turns back to Peter, giving him what he hopes is an encouraging smile before answering.

“Well you see Pete, you could do that. But, the reason we like for our personal interns to use these as a daily as well is because you never know when something secure might need to be sent. And plus we cover all the costs, that means phone and everything else like texting and data. You get unlimited by the way. Pretty cool huh?”

Peter still looks unconvinced so he tries again. “Peter I promise you this is a thing that we do for all personal interns. Hell we’re even looking into doing it for all interns.”

Peter looks down at his lap, his ears turning a little red, he fidgets with the zipper of his hoodie.

“Mr. Stark, I appreciate it, really I do. But, May and I couldn’t afford something like the newest StarkPhone. It would just raise so many questions.” Is that what the kids worried about? Questions being asked where he got a new phone? He reaches out his left hand and places it on Peter’s shoulder.

“Kid if that’s what your worried about then just tell them you have an internship with the company. I can send something to your school so they don’t think you’re bullshitting.”

Peter’s head whips up to look at him, something close to anger simmering in his eyes. “Mr. Stark it isn’t just that easy! Why would they believe I have an internship? I’m just a nobody kid from Queens. And everyone knows that you only have college students as interns.”

Tony gives a sigh and squeezes Peter’s shoulder a little tighter trying to ground him to the moment.

“You can tell them exactly what we told May. That you applied for it anyway and that I was impressed and that I just knew I needed you to be my intern. It isn’t too far off from the truth honestly.”

Peter cocks his head to the side, looking a bit like a confused puppy. Tony can’t help but smile at the gesture. “I  _ may _ have hacked into your schools database and looked at your scores/grades. They’re very impressive by the way.” 

Peter’s eyes go wide and Tony just gives him a smirk. “Mr. Stark that’s illegal! You can’t just hack a school system!” he looks torn between being offended by Tony’s actions and wanting to laugh about them. Tony gives him a chuckle, clapping his shoulder before dropping his hand.

“Aw kid, I’ve done a lot worse. And don’t worry I didn’t mess with anything. I really did just go in to look at your scores. I’m serious Peter. You’re smart as hell, you could be in college already in all truth and honesty. So please, I need you to understand that you’re here, as my personal intern, because you deserve to be here.”

Peter’s face goes flush under the praise and he ducks his head, trying to hide a smile Tony thinks. After a few seconds, Peter takes a deep breath, releases it and looks Tony in the eye with a bravery that should be beyond a kid his age.

“Alright Mr. Stark, you win. But I get to take them out of their boxes. That's half the fun.” He says it with a grin, laughter in his voice. Tony can’t help but give a grin back

“Alright underoos let’s get started.”

\----

After Tony and Peter finished setting up the new phone and tablet, Peter the whole time exclaiming how amazing they both were, Tony thinks it’s time to start his tour.

“Alright Pete, some info before we keep going.” Peter looks up from his new phone, before putting it in his pocket and turning to fully face Tony. “Alright let’s start with your badge.” he motions to the lanyard around Peter’s neck. Peter looks down, seeming a little confused.

“My badge Mr. Stark?”

“That’s right kid. Since you’re the personal intern of yours truly, you have to be able to access the places I do. Which means you have full access to the building. Of course we’re gonna limit where you go for now. In fact you’ll probably be going back and forth between R&D, Medical, and the Prosthetics areas.”

Peter brings the badge up to his face eyes wide. Tony can’t help but smile at him.

“That’s right kid, that little card is basically a key to the empire.” instead of laughing though Peter looks up at Tony with a serious expression.

“I won’t let you down Mr. Stark.” It’s said with such seriousness that Tony just nods his head. Leave it to this kid to think it's a responsibility. Tony stands from his stool and starts walking over the side of the room. He hears Peter following him.

“Alright kid, I’m gonna be honest with you. The lab isn’t really organized in any one way. It usually revolves whatever I’m working on. And right now that’s Rhodey’s leg braces.” 

“Are those what Col. Rhodes had on?”

Tony nods his head, glad Peter had noticed. “Yup, they’re controlled by two implants at his lower back that intercept the signals his brain tries to send his legs and sends them to the braces.” Peter’s eyes go wide at that.

“Mr. Stark this has got to be the coolest day of my life.” Tony only laughs standing in front of a wall covered in shelves and lockers.

“You’ll get used it kiddo. Alright this wall here is where all tools and a good majority of materials you’d probably ever need are.” The door to the left of Tony opens with a thought and he makes a gesture at it, inviting Peter to go in first. “And this is the fabrication area, where all suits are made.” He says the last bit dully. Even he can hear it, he just hopes the kid can’t.

Peter walks in mouth hanging open in what Tony thinks is awe. He hasn’t really been in here much the past month. Granted he hadn’t had much of a chance between the coma, surgeries, and Extremis. He also just hadn’t felt ready to. As soon as he was able he had ordered his remaining suits torn down and stored away. He just couldn’t look at them right now.

Tony shows Peter around the fabrication area before heading back into the main lab and completing his tour in front of a desk he had set up earlier in the day. It’s right beside his main desk, but unlike the rest it’s devoid of any clutter.

“And this desk here completes our tour.” 

Peter looks up at him confused again. “What’s so special about this desk Mr. Stark? It looks like the rest.” 

Tony can’t stop the smirk that crosses his face. “Oh there’s nothing too special about it kid. It just happens to be your desk is all.” Peter’s eyes widen so large Tony’s a little concerned his eyes will come out of his skull.

“ _ My desk??? _ ” Tony just laughs at his reaction.

“Yea kid  _ your _ desk. Can’t have you working in here without a desk can we?” Peter looks back down at the desk, running his hand over the cool metal surface. “Hold on kid you haven’t seen the best part.” With a flick of his wrist Tony brings up the holo displays for Peters desk. Peter’s eyes go wide again.

“Woah.”

Tony chuckles again, lightly patting Peter on the back. “Don’t worry kid, you’ll be using them like a pro in no time. Well, that’s the tour for this lab. I figure we can do the other lab tours later yea?” Peter nods his head eagerly. “Alrighty, so got any questions? Comments? Concerns?”

Peter looks a little torn for a second before he takes a breath and squares his shoulders a little. Tony has a feeling he might not like where this is about to go. But he lets it happen anyway.

“I uh, I do h-have a q-question” Peter pauses to take another deep breath. Tony thinks it’s to stim the stuttering, that he doesn’t find adorable and endearing. Nope not at all. “But it isn’t a-about the labs. It’s about what that d-doctor said the last time I was here.” Tony’s mildly impressed that he did manage to calm down the stutter, but he doesn’t let it show. Instead he gives a serious nod, figuring that Peter would ask sooner rather than later. He pulls the stool over from his desk and sits down, Peter does the same.

Before Tony can even say anything though Peter starts speaking. 

"I just want to like, make sure you know I'm not asking about what happened…. Before." he looks a little sheepish but Tony just offers him a smile. 

"I appreciate that bud. I really do. Alright ask away, I'll try to answer the best I can."

Peter seems to search his face like he’s making sure Tony isn’t lying before slowly nodding. He takes one more deep breath, closing his eyes, and releases it looking back up at Tony.

“When I saw you in that room, you had an IV hooked up to a bag labeled ‘Extremis V4.6 infusion 4’. What exactly is that?” 

Tony nods his head, trying to think of a way to explain what Extremis was and is. He supposes he should start from the beginning.

“Do you remember the Manadrain stuff from a few years ago Pete?” 

Peter thinks for a second before nodding his head “Yea that was when everyone thought you were dead right?” Tony snorts at that.

“Got it in one kiddo. See during all of that, there were these people that were… spontaneously combusting. And it was caused by Extremis-don’t worry it’s fine now, I fixed it in no time.” Tony stops that panicked look as quickly as he can. Though he’s a little touched that this kid would be so worried almost immediately. “Once I got that whole situation with the Mandrian settled I took the Extremis formula and stripped it down to it’s base layers. You see Extremis was created as a sort of cure all for humans, but it had an issue. The body it was injected to had the possibility of rejecting it. But once I figured out how to rework that and take away the things I didn’t want I found myself with a fun little pet project I could tinker around with every now and again.”

Peter nods his head slowly. “Ok, so does that mean you used it to heal yourself or…?”

“In the simplest of answers yes. When I was… found I was in a coma and near death. FRIDAY activated a protocol I had set in place in the event that I was no longer able to make my own decisions. This protocol gave both Rhodey and Pepper access to my private server. Which is where they found my file for Extremis.” Tony stops speaking for a moment, grabbing the cup of coffee on his desk and taking a drink. 

“I’m sorry sir, I'm still a little lost on this whole Extremis thing.” Tony nods his head.

“You don’t have to say ‘sir’ bud. And yea, I don’t think I’ve done a good job explaining it. Sorry kid, let me give this a try coming from a different angle.” Peter gives him an enthusiastic nod.

“I guess you could almost think of the version of Extremis I have as a sort of super soldier serum…” Tony gives a small cringe at that but that really is the best way he could explain it. “You see the creator of it put to much tax on the body, and the body had a chance of rejecting the virus since it was rewriting the DNA. But once I stripped it down of it’s extreme healing and heat manipulation, it oppearated much more like a super soldier serum. And once I changed it so that it would fuse with the person's DNA instead of totally rewriting it, it became stable.”

“Ok I get that part, that makes sense. But I guess my next question is; why not use it for others too?”

Tony gives a tired sigh “Kid, even though I made it stable, it didn’t mean it was any less painful to go through. And plus I didn’t want to get into my fathers game of trying to make super soldiers. The one we had was enough and I just wanted a pet project to work on with Bruce.” 

Peter looks down at his lap “I’m sorry Mr. Stark I wa-”

“Pete it’s fine I know you didn’t mean anything by it. It was a valid question, and one I’m expecting to answer again soon.” Peter looks up through his bangs before giving a small nod.

“You said it’s like a super soldier serum. Does that mean you have the same abilities as Captain America?” Tony tries, and seems to succeed, at not cringing at hearing Rogers name. 

“Well I haven’t gotten to test all of them out. But I know that my senses are better than an average humans ...and I’m pretty sure there are other abilities that were only theories but might actually work. Again I'm not sure."

Peter’s eyes go a little wide at that. “...Wow Mr. Stark. That’s… kinda a lot isn’t it?” 

Tony gives a small chuckle. “You’d know more about most of it than I do Spider-Baby.”

\-----

After their conversation they fall into silence. Thankfully it isn’t an uncomfortable one, they both just seem to be lost in their own thoughts. Tony is thinking about ways he can better explain Extremis, not only to Peter but to the accorads committee too. He also needs to figure out a way to handle Ross. Tony knows Ross is being a little more careful now that he’s shown Tony the Raft and the fact that the Rogue’s had escaped said place, with a little help from Tony and FRIDAY. But he still needed to be dealt with. He was a loose cannon otherwise. He’s brought out of his thoughts when he hears a stomach growl. He knows it wasn’t his which can only mean it’s Peter’s. He checks his watch to see it’s 5:30 and the kid probably hadn’t eaten anything since school lunch.

Tony turns around in his stool to face Peter who was toying around with his phone. “How about some dinner kid? Cause I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

Peter put his phone back down on his desk, looking at Tony a little sheepish “Mr. Stark you don’t have to do that, really. I’m fine.” Tony is already shaking his head.

“I’m serious kid. I heard your stomach, and I have no doubt you’ll be hearing mine soon enough.” And it seems that his stomach wants to prove his point because it also gives a growl. He looks at Peter and smiles while Peter gives a snort of laughter, before nodding his head.

“Alright Mr. Stark, food does sound good. Did you have something in mind?” 

“Hm….” Tony scratches his jaw thinking what could feed both his and the kids enhanced metabolism. Finally he has an idea. “What about pizza?” Peter’s eyes light up at that.

“Pizza sounds awesome Mr. Stark!” Tony can’t help but smile at his enthusiasm.

“Perfect I know one of the best pizza spots in Manhattan. What kind of pizza do you like kid?”

“Oh, I’ll eat anything Mr. Stark!”

“Nu-uh come on kid. I know you have to have a favorite! Everyone has a favorite!” Tony’s gesturating his hands wildly. 

“What’s your favorite Mr. Stark?” Peter’s looking at him expectantly. Like Tony hadn’t been expecting the question.

“Meat lovers of course! Pepper loves everything pizzas and Rhodey loves pepperoni. So cough it up spiderling what’s your favorite?” Tony’s smiling like a mad man. He hasn’t had this much fun in a while. And Peter’s laughing at him and it might be one of the best sounds Tony has heard in awhile.

“Alright, alright! You win! My favorites sausage and olive! There are you happy?” Peter can barely say it over his constant laughing and Tony can’t help but laugh too.

  
“Why yes I am Parker. Yes I am. Fri the usual place, my new order and add five sausage and olive for the spider-baby with very strange taste buds.” Tony gets an indignant groan of “Mr. Stark!” and Tony just grins. 

“With the additions to the order it might take longer than usual boss.”

“Time frame baby girl?”

“At least an hour and twenty minutes boss.” Tony nods his head and walks over to his stash of snacks that he’s kept in the lab since he lived in Malibu. He picks out a bag of pistachios for himself and grabs a bag of granola for Peter. “Heads up Pete!” he tosses the bag at Peter at the same time and the kid just grabs it out of the air without even looking up from his phone. Tony can’t help but shake his head, smiling. “Kid one of these days we’re gonna have to put some of your skills to the test you know that?” 

Peter glances up from his phone with a smirk “Only if we can test your new ones!” and Tony should really be surprised by the statement but he finds that he isn’t. He just gives a grin before opening his pistachios. 

Tony gives a nod at Peter’s desk as he finishes chewing.”You wanna set up your desk while we wait for the pizza?”

Peter gives an enthusiastic nod “That’d be great Mr. Stark!”

\-------

Tony thinks it’s been about an hour when FRIDAY’s voice comes through again, pulling him and Peter out of their work. They had gotten pretty much everything set up how the kid had wanted. Making it so that the holo displays were on the left and right of him while his tablet sat in the center of them. Then it was just a matter of making sure things were in Peter’s reach. 

“Boss, your dinner has arrived. It is in the penthouse.” FRIDAY’s voice rings through the lab startling both Tony and Peter, both of whom had gotten lost in their work and chatting about nothing. 

Tony looks down at Peter, raising one of his eyebrows and nodding towards the doors. “What’d ya say kid? Ready to get your grub on?” Peter for his part manages to hide the smile with an unimpressed look before it’s cracked by a grin and he nods his head.

“Yea Mr. Stark food sounds really good. I guess I didn’t realize how hungry I was.” he says the last part while looking down, his ears turning a shade of pink in what Tony can only assume is embarrassment. Tony just puts his right hand between his shoulder blades and starts to gently push him towards the lab doors.    
  
“Yea well good thing you can’t hide from me underoos.” 

They make it to the elevators and Tony drops his hand, noticing out of the corner of his eye that Peter shuffles his feet and has a small frown on his face. He’s confused and goes to ask about it but once he blinks its gone and instead there’s a small smile on Peter’s face. So Tony takes note of it and walks into the elevator once its doors open. When they get about three floors away the smell of pizza hits his nose and his mouth starts watering. The kid wasn’t the only one that didn’t realize how hungry he was. Tony had gotten used to most of the other things from Extremis that he had discovered, but one thing he hadn’t was the increased metabolism. 

Tony had never had the healthiest of eating schedules. Especially when he was in the lab, which is why Tony had started to keep some kind of snack in his labs. There was a drawer or cabinet that was always stocked with something and was frequently replenished. But now with Extremis he couldn’t go about skipping meals anymore. He had tried two days after his fever broke, well ‘tried’ isn’t the right word Tony thinks. He had been in the lab for 12 hours working on Rhodey’s leg braces and hadn’t eaten anything in that time frame. On accident of course. Tony thought he would be fine, but when he stood up he had almost passed out and his stomach was cramping from how empty it was. Needless to say Helen hadn’t been happy.

When the elevator finally stops and the doors open both Tony and Peter were speed walking towards the kitchen. Both of them seeming to want to get to their respective pizzas quickly. Tony walks over to the fridge first.

“What do you want to drink Pete? I got Coke, Dr. Pepper, Coke Zero huh didn’t know I had that one, and Sprite? I definitely don’t remember that one. That's ...Nats favorite.” He hears the way his voice hitches on her name. Can feel the high of working with someone so incredibly smart like Peter start to wash away. But, he clears his throat and turns around to look at Peter. 

Peter who is looking at him with concerned eyes. 

_ Damnit, why couldn’t I just keep my shit together _ runs through Tony’s head, but before he can say anything Peter seems to bring himself out of his thoughts.

“I’ll take Coke Zero Mr. Stark, thank you!” even Tony can hear the forced joy in his voice. Even if it’s barely there. But he just nods his head and grabs two bottles of Coke Zero and two bottles of Coke for himself before he closes the fridge and heads over to the kitchen island where Peter had set up. He puts the bottles beside Peter who's already digging into his third slice of pizza. He doesn’t speak thankfully, what with his mouth full, but he does look up at Tony and beams at him. Tony just reaches up with his free hand, faintly aware it’s his natural left hand, and ruffles the kids hair before he catches himself. But instead of making it awkward stopping halfway through the motion he just finishes it, he took note that the kid had surprisingly soft hair. Tony walks over a bar stool across from Peter. Who is giving him a small glare.

For the next fifteen minutes or so they eat in a comfortable silence. Both content to let the other enjoy their meal without interrupting it to speak. They both manage to work through two pizzas in that time. He had noticed Peter raised an eyebrow at the fact that there were ten pizzas, five for the both of them, but he hadn’t asked Tony about it. Tony suspects that’s because he just wanted to start eating as quickly as possible and Tony couldn’t have agreed more.

After another 5 minutes or so and another large quantity of pizza for them both, they come up for air and look at the destruction they had rained down upon the pizza. Tony thinks it looks a lot like New York after the invasion. The boxes acting like the crumbled buildings and the red sauce acting as- 

_ Burrrrpppp  _

Tony's thoughts are interrupted by a burp loud enough it would have put Clint to shame. He looks up at Peter who has a hand covering his mouth and his eyes are wide. He moves the hand out from in front of his mouth. 

"Uh, excuse me?" Peter says it with confusion. Like he isn't sure that sound had just come out of him. It's enough to send Tony over the edge of hysterical laughter. He doubles over and puts his forehead on the counter. Laughing so hard his stomach starts to hurt. 

He's pretty sure he hears Peter laughing too, though if it was at the ungodly sound that had come out of him or at Tony's reaction, Tony isn't sure. But it's a good sound, unguarded and free. It takes some time for both of them to calm down enough to properly breathe. Even longer for them to speak. 

"Fucking hell Pete, did you just summon a demon or something?" Tony's back to laughing again though it's not as hard as earlier. 

"I don't know! I didn't even know I could do that! I've never burped like that in my life!" Peter's still smiling and Tony feels something loosen a little in his stomach. A knot of anxiety not completely going away, but also not as overbearing as it had been. Maybe Pepper was right. 

Maybe this would be good for him, and maybe, just maybe, this would be good for Peter too. Tony looks down at his watch and sees it’s 7 pm. 

"Alright kiddo, you've got about thirty minutes until you should be leaving. What'd ya say we head back down to the lab, get your stuff up and I can walk you down to the garage?" 

Peters smile is bright when he answers "That sounds great Mr. Stark!"

As Tony and Peter walk back to the lab Peter seems to decide on something before turning to Tony. 

"Mr. Stark, you said that Extermis is like a super soldier serum. Is that why you could eat as much as I could?" 

"Got it in one bud. Though I do think you could eat more than me still. I was actually at my limit up there but it looked like you could have kept going if you really wanted to." Tony looks down at Peter with a raised eyebrow and watches as Peter shrugs. 

"I mean I ate till I was full if that's what you mean. I just didn't want to overeat. I don't know if I can still get sick after the bite and I don't want to test it either." 

Tony gives a snort "Makes sense, makes sense." 

They make it back to the lab and Peter starts packing up, they hadn't gotten around to Peter's homework but it doesn't seem the kid minds and Tony knows that it might happen for the first few weeks while they settle into a routine. Tony notices Peter keeps glancing at him. He decides to take a small leap because he suspects Peter has another question but doesn't want to ask it for the fear of seeming rude. 

"Got another question underoos?" Tony watches as Peters shoulders hitch up a little before he lowers them. 

"Uh, yea, just uh, just one more before I head home? Why did the Extremis change the color of your eyes?" 

That's probably going to be the easiest question he'll be able to answer going forward. Tony gives Peter what he hopes is a reassuring smile. 

"That was actually an unintended accident believe it or not. Seems Extremis liked the traces of palladium particles I had in my system and it reacted with it by turning my eyes blue. Gotta say it took a little getting used to, but I think I pull them off pretty well."

Peter gives a snort of laughter, walking to stand in front of him, backpack slung over one shoulder.

"Yea Mr. Stark. Combined with the new beard, you're really pulling off a young mad scientist look" Peter says with a toothy grin that Tony can't help but to give back. 

Tony looks over to Peters desk and sees that his tablet is still there "Pete you know you can take the tablet with you right? In fact I kind of want you to so you can use it if you have any ideas that you'd want to work on." Tony looks back to Peter who's blushing a little again but he just nods, walking back over to pick up his tablet, closing the keyboard case on its screen and putting it under his arm. Tony looks back down at his watch and decides it's time for Peter to head out. 

"Come on kid, I'll walk with you down to the garage. Happy will be meeting us there."

"Right behind you Mr. Stark."

They walk to the elevator and share the ride in silence. Both equally lost in their thoughts again. It isn't until they're standing in front of the car that Tony remembers one thing he didn't do earlier. 

"Peter let me see your phone." he's amazed that Peter hands it over without any hesitation. Tony has Peter unlock it, then he goes into the contacts and adds his name and number to it, before he sends himself a text so he can save Peters number to his phone. 

"Alright Peter, you've got my number now. If you think of anything, more questions, or have an idea that you want me to look into for another session, or if theres some kind of Spider-Man emergency. But I expect you to call me for that. Otherwise, just text me alright?" Peter looks at him with wide eyes before looking back down at his phone. Tony isn't sure what the look is for. 

"Mr. Stark, thank you so much for today. I'm pretty sure this has been one of the best days of my life." Tony just gives a shake of his head with a smile and gently punches him in the shoulder. 

"Keep that in mind whenever I send you on fifteen coffee runs kid. Alright now get going before Happy yells at the both of us." Peter gives a laugh but gets in the car anyway he shuts the door but rolls the window down as Happy cranks the car.

"I'll see you next week Mr. Stark?" 

Tony gives him a smile "Next week kid." 

With that Happy drives away and for the first time in a long time, Tony is left with a feeling of joy. 


	5. Messages

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re tellin me that you, Peter Benjamin Parker, are Tony Stark’s personal intern?” 
> 
> “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Peter says it with much more confidence than he actually felt about the situation. Which he’s glad for.
> 
> “Dude ...that's so cool! Why didn’t you just say that before? Oh my god my best friend knows Tony Stark. Oh my god I’m only one degree of seperation from Tony freaking Stark.” Ned keeps rambling on, asking questions when his brain work past the shock for the rest of the time they’re together. Peter suspects he’s going to be getting questions over text for a little while too when they have to split up to go home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks here's ch5! Not a hell of a lot to say about this one honestly. Small update about the fic as a whole though. I'm still working on ch8 actually, but with good reason. It's shaping up to be the longest chapter I've written so far. So I may actually stagger the update for ch6. So instead of ch6 coming out next Tuesday it'd come out the following one which would be January 28th. I'm not set in stone about that and if I find that I can get ch9 done quicker then I should be ok. But this is just a heads up.
> 
> Alright enough rambling, as always comments are welcomed and encouraged!

When Peter got home that Friday night he had been absolutely buzzing with energy. He had only ever had laughing gas at the dentist so his frame of reference was limited. But he thought it felt like he was on an incredible high. His first day at the tower with Mr. Stark had been  _ incredible _ . He hadn’t known what to expect when he got to the tower, but it hadn’t been that. Though now that Peter is thinking about it, maybe he should have expected at least  _ some _ of it but he just hadn’t! The new phone and tablet had been incredible surprises, but finding out that his badge gave him the same access as  _ Tony Fucking Stark _ had been like being punched in the gut. But in a good way.

After Peter had said goodbye to Happy he had bounded up the stairs to his apartment two at a time. When he got in the door, he was greeted with May sitting on the couch watching the news, but as soon as she heard him come in she looked up at him and gave him a giant smile.

“Hey baby! How was it?!” and that’s all the prompting Peter needs to launch into a retelling of events.

“May it was incredible! His lab is amazing! And I have a desk in it! My  _ own desk _ ! Can you believe it?” Peter walks over to the couch to sit beside May, pulling out his new phone and tablet to show her. “And look at this! He gave me a brand new StarkPhone and tablet!” He looks over at May to see her looking at the phone and tablet with a strange look and he’s reminded of his reluctance at first, so he quickly tries to explain before she can say anything. “It’s not just me! Mr. Stark said that every personal intern that work for heads of departments get them. He said they do it because it’s secure and that they can use their own network and not have to worry about potential data breaches. He said that they’re even looking into doing it for all interns, I think maybe the personal interns are like, a beta group? A smaller test to see how interns handle it?” He ends the last bit as a question because May still has that look on her face.

“That’s really great Peter but did you tell him that we can’t afford to switch networks?” Peter can feel his face heat up a little.

“I did yea, but he said the company covers all costs. Everything from the phone to its service. Like he said they want to make sure everything’s secure.” May looks him dead in the eye so he tries one more time to reassure her. “I promise Aunt May I tried to turn him down, but he was very insistent that this is something that’s implemented company wide. I promise I wouldn’t have just taken it if I felt like he was lying.” Peter means that too. If he had felt like Mr. Stark had been lying to him then he would have flat out refused. But, he had believed Mr. Stark.

May finally gives a sigh and a small smile at him “Alright Peter, I believe you. I’m just gonna have to ask Tony to run it by me next time or something. Makes me feel a little off. But that’s enough about me and my worries. Go on, keep telling me about the rest of your day.” 

So Peter does. He tells her about the tour of the lab, the fact that he has the same access level as Mr. Stark, that Mr. Stark wants to show him the other labs too. By the time Peter finishes telling her about dinner and the loudest burp he’s ever had she’s nearly in stitches laughing so hard.

“Oh my god Peter you did not burp like that in front of Tony freaking Stark!” May says while trying to catch her breath.

“I did! Oh my god May I was so embarrassed! But then Mr. Stark just started laughing! And then he asked if I had summoned a demon!” Aunt May is shaking her head when Peter finishes. Looking at him with a fond smile.

“Sounds like you had a great time sweetheart.”

Peter nods his head “I really did May. This was one of the most incredible days I’ve ever had.” She gives him a big smile before sobering up a little.

“How did he look? He sounded really tired over the phone.” Peter sobers at the question, trying to think of the best way to answer.

“I don’t know how much I’m really allowed to tell you right now… There have been some changes.” He bites his lip trying to think of how he wanted to word this next part. “I don’t think he’s doing good right now. He got this far away look in his eyes when he thought I wasn't looking. But, I think he will be ok, with time.” Peter feels a little like Ben when he says the last part, but the sharp pain when he thinks of Ben doesn’t come. It’s a little duller now.

May looks at him and gives a nod, a slow, small smile crossing her face “And you’ll be there every step of the way until he is won’t you?” Peter’s a little surprised by the question, but as he thinks about it, he realizes it’s true. He does want to be there as Mr. Stark gets back on his feet.

Peter gives May a smile and a small shrug, a little bashful about his answer “I want to, yea.” Aunt May gives him a huge smile and pulls him into a tight hug.   
  


\------

Peter's sitting in his APUSH class Monday morning when he feels his phone go off. Normally he wouldn't find that strange, it'd either be Ned or May. But he knows it's not Ned because he was taking a test in English on their summer reading. And May said she'd be in the OR most of the morning. Peter waits for when his teacher starts to write on the board to pull his phone out. To his utter shock and surprise it's a text from Mr. Stark. Peter takes a quick look up to make sure his teacher is still facing the other way before quickly opening the text. 

**Tony:** _ Hey kid, I know you're in school but I forgot a few things and I'm going to be in meetings all day so this is the only chance I'll have to text you. Two things, one: I forgot to set up your private server and our shared server. But I set them up last night and sent them through to your tablet, don't worry about any kind of logins. They're only tied to your tablet. And two: I spoke with your aunt this morning and she expressed feeling a little strange about me covering the costs of the phone and stuff. Don't worry I told her to not even worry about it, I can be pretty convincing when I want to be. But I did promise her that I'd let her know if anything like that would pop up again. But I warned her that you and I will be working on stuff that'll require testing out in the real world so. Anyway, we also agreed to figure out something to give your school so they're aware of the internship. See if it can count towards some sort of extra credit or something. Alright well this got long and I'm being dragged into my first meeting. Talk later bud.  _

Peter really shouldn't be surprised that Mr. Stark texts like he talks, rambling and a little all over the place. Though Peter thinks Aunt May might accuse him of the same thing. Something tells him he's about to be in danger so he locks his phone and stuffs it into his hoodie pocket. Peter looks up just in time to see his teacher starting to look around. 

That was the first time his senses had warned him of something like that. Peter writes down in the margin of his notepad to talk to Mr. Stark about what kind of experiments they could run on it. 

For the reminder of the next two classes Peter couldn't respond to the text. He isn't sure if he's meant to, but part of him really wants to. Even if it's just to say thanks. He finally gets the chance at lunch. He manages to beat Ned there by at least a few minutes so he goes through the line and sits at their table that's out of the way of the others for the most part. Peter quickly pulls his phone out and opens his texts back up. 

**Peter:** _ dont worry about it mr stark! youve had a lot going on so i totally understand! and sorry about aunt may she said the same thing to me after i explained and really mr stark you dont have to do that!  _

Peter has just enough time to lock his phone and put it back in his pocket before Ned sits across from him.

“Dude, that test in english was hell. Like it was worse than the book reports we had to do on the summer reading.” Peter gives Ned a sympathetic look.

“Yea Mr. Jacobs seems like a bit of a hard ass honestly. Like I know it’s an AP class but did he have to assign so many books for summer reading?” Peter had to double down on his reading time after Germany. He barely went out as Spider-Man that week after so he could get it all done before classes started. He had only finished it the day before he had called Happy about Mr. Stark.

“No kidding dude.” 

Ned starts to dig into his lunch and Peter does the same. He’s about halfway done when he feels his phone vibrate again, and without even thinking about it, Peter pulls it out of his pocket. Before he even has time to register what he’s done he hears Ned take a sharp inhale.

“Dude is that the newest StarkPhone?! How’d you get that? Weren’t you just complaining about not being able to afford replacement parts for your laptop?” Peter loves Ned. He really does. But sometimes Peter can’t help but wish Ned knew how to be subtle.

“Ned! Not so loud!” Peter doesn’t mean to say it in a harsh whisper, but Ned is so close to bringing unwanted attention to them that he wasn’t sure what else to do.

“Seriously Peter, where’d you get it?” And this is one of the reasons why Peter hadn’t wanted Ned to find out this soon. He hadn’t had time to come up with a story, but he doesn’t feel comfortable discussing it here. His senses aren’t telling him he’s in danger but it’s better to be safe than sorry he reasons. 

“Ned, not right now alright? I promise I’ll explain everything.” he sees Ned start to open his mouth so Peter plows along. Determined to not be interrupted. “After school alright? I have some extra cash, so we can go by Delmars on the way home. I’ll explain everything on the walk alright?”

Ned looks like he wants to refuse and push the issue. But, he seems to rethink that approach, instead he nods while pointing his spork at Peter. “Fine, but I’m gonna have a lot of questions.” 

Peter just nods his head as he looks down at his phone to see that he had gotten a response from Mr. Stark. Hadn’t he said that he’d be in meetings all day? What was Mr. Stark doing sending him a text while at an important meeting? 

**Tony:** _ Don't worry about your aunt kid, I should have thought about it before I gave them to you. But in my defense I haven't had a personal intern since we implemented all of this. Also, I know you're in school, why are you texting me back? Shouldn't you be paying attention and learning that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?  _

Peter can't help the small snort he gives at Mr. Starks joke. He glances around to make sure none of the teachers in the cafeteria are looking. He catches sight of Ned looking at him with a raised eyebrow but ignores it in favor of replying to Mr. Stark while he has the time. 

**Peter:** _ didnt you say you were gonna be in meetings all day mr stark? shouldnt you be paying attention to… i actually dont know what youre supposed to pay attention to in meetings _

Before Peter can even lock his phone he sees the typing bubble pop up so he decides he has enough time to read this last message before lunch ends. Thankfully, it seems Mr. Stark is a quick typer because he doesn't have to wait long for it. 

**Tony:** _ Touche kid. We’re taking a lunch break. And don’t worry, one day I’m gonna bring you along to all of my meetings just so you can see what it’s like :) _

Peter’s a little surprised at the use of a text emoji but he lets it slide in favor of one more quick reply.

**Peter:** _ im at lunch too! but i cant keep texting or else ill get caught. talk later mr stark! _

Peter finally locks his phone and puts it away just in time to see Ned reaching over to warn him about a teacher that looked like was walking their way before diverting to the doors that lead outside. Peter releases the breath he hadn’t been aware he had been holding, looking back over at Ned with his shoulders sagging, eyes closing in relief. 

“That was probably a little too close.” Ned snorts though it sounds a little wounded. Peter opens his eyes to look at his best friend, he raises an eyebrow at Neds look of hurt and confusion. 

“So is the reason why you were so ready to get out of here have anything to do with the new phone?” Peter bristles a little at the tone of Neds question. But instead of biting back he takes a deep breath and holds it for a few seconds before releasing it. On some base level he understands that Ned is just confused, but it feels like he’s being accused of something that he hasn’t done.

“Ned I promised I would explain everything after school right?”

Ned gives him a bit of a hard stare “I don’t understand why you can’t explain now though.”

Peter gives a deep sigh before answering “Ned it would take a long time, and we don’t have that much time left for lunch. After school I’ll actually have time to properly explain and answer all the questions you have yea?” It seems the universe wants to be on his side for once as the bell signaling the end of lunch rings. Ned gives a sigh, his features going slack into his natural expression.

“Alright. I guess that was fair.” Peter gives him a smile, trying to let him know that no harm had really been done. Ned returns the smile, though smaller.

“You guys are weird. You better hurry up before your late to class.” They both jump and whip their heads to the direction where the voice had came from. 

There sitting at the end of their table is Michelle from the decathlon team. Peter’s surprised that neither Ned or him especially, had noticed her sit down. But they don’t have time to dwell on it because she’s right. If they don’t hurry they will be late to their next class. Peter quickly stands and gathers his things, Ned doing the same, before they’re darting off to dump their trays and get to their respective classes. Peter going to english and Ned to APUSH. 

Peter feels his phone go off, but he doesn’t risk looking at it while Mr. Jacobs is teaching. He’s heard some of the juniors and seniors talk about how he was notorious for knowing when someone was using their phone in class and that he wouldn’t give you a warning. He would send it directly to the office where you had to have your guardians/parents come pick it up. That’s the last thing Peter wants or needs.

When they get to chemistry, their last class and still Peters favorite, he glances a look at his phone to see that Mr. Stark had sent him a thumbs up emoji. It takes everything in his willpower to not laugh at the idea of Mr. Stark sending an actual emoji. He isn’t sure why the idea is so funny to him but it is. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Ned looking at his phone with his brows furrowed. The way they do when he gets a hard question in decathlon practice. Peter puts his phone back and pays attention to the rest of class. Every now and again he glances over at Ned to see him still looking like he’s trying to solve a puzzle.

\----

The last bell of the day rings and suddenly Peter feels much more nervous, now that he knows there’s no way of not telling Ned about the internship. He tries to figure out why he’s so reluctant to tell him as they walk the halls towards the exit. He comes up with an answer but it doesn’t make him feel better. There’s two parts to it though so Peter supposes it isn’t so bad. One part of him is worried that, since this internship is still so new, there’s a chance Mr. Stark will change his mind and tell him to not come back. The other part, the darker part, just wants some things for himself. Sure he has Spider-Man, but Spider-Man belongs to him just as much as it does to the citizens of Queens, and New York City.

But this Internship is his. Sure it came about because Mr. Stark had needed people for his team during the Civil War. But Mr. Stark had made it a point to tell Peter that he was getting the internship because of his achievements as Peter Parker. They’re barely down a block when Ned asks his first question.

“Alright so like not that I’m not happy you got a new phone, because I am, you deserved a new one. But I’m just really confused because like I’m pretty sure you were telling me last week how your laptop was dying and that you were worried it wouldn’t hold up the full school year and that you didn’t know how you’d afford parts for it. So what gives man?” 

Peter takes a deep breath, he figures if he’s going to tell Ned about the internship then he’s going to need to start from the beginning. Leaving some things out of course. 

“Ok so uh, there’s a couple things I haven’t told you about. So I’ll uh-I’ll just start from the top. So back in like March or April I saw that the SI twitter retweeted a post from the September Foundation saying they were looking for applicants for the internship program. This was right after the science fair, and I had all this research. So, I decided to take all my research and compile it into a paper. I sent it in along with some other stuff I had been working on in my spare time.”

That’s about as close as he’ll get to mentioning the web formula right now. He doesn’t wanna draw Ned’s ability to make connections. Especially not to himself and Spider-Man. 

“Ok and? And isn’t the September Foundation for college students?” Ned sounds a little impatient, but he’s the one that was insistent on getting the full story.

“And I didn’t hear anything back, because like you said, it’s for college students. But then I come home one day in July from your place and there’s Tony fucking Stark sitting in my living room. Drinking Aunt May’s coffee and eating her awful date cake.” Ned is looking at him with wide eyes as they finally walk into Delmars sandwich shop. They make their usual orders and pay before walking out. Making their way towards a park so they can’t sit down and eat their sandwiches. Peter decides he should send May a text to let her know what’s happening.

**Peter:** _ned saw my new phone so im with him explaining stuff. ill be home later_

His reply is almost instant thankfully. 

**May:** _ Sounds good, be safe, love you! _

**Peter:** _ love you too!! _

They make it to the park just in time for Peter to put his phone back away. Peter sees Ned putting his phone away too and assumes that he had been doing the same thing as Peter. Letting his mom know that he won’t be home for a little bit.

“You have to be kidding right? You have to be. Why would _The_ _Tony Stark_ be at your apartment?” Peter doesn’t hide his wounded look in time it seems “Not that you wouldn’t deserve it! It just doesn’t make sense is all.” Ned’s quick to add on.

They find a table and sit down opposite one another.

“I was getting to that. So apparently Mr. Stark had seen my application personally and was really interested. So he came to the apartment to speak with May and I about an intern retreat in Germany for a lot of the company interns. He said he wanted to bring me to see if I could work with the others.” Ned’s giving him another look. But this is one Peter can’t really make heads or tails of.

“Is this during all the Civil War stuff?” Peter could curse himself an idiot but he doesn’t react to much outwardly.

“Yea, Mr. Stark had said that he might not get to spend a lot of time with me once we landed and he heard that Cap was in Germany. I didn’t see him much after the flight.” Not necessarily untrue, but also not the whole truth. “And he was right. I didn’t see him again until we were heading back to America.”

Ned takes a bite of his sandwich, making a ‘go on’ motion with it.

“So anyway, Mr. Stark drops me back off home and says ‘We’ll be in touch.’ and I’m thinking ‘Holy shit I’m going to be working for Tony Stark!’ but then I don’t hear anything for a week, then two weeks, a month. But when I finally give up hope May tells me she just got a call from Tony Stark asking her if I could be his personal intern. And May said yes.”

Ned’s looking at him with wide eyes again. A look of utter disbelief on his face. And really, Peter can’t blame him. He knows it sounds like an insanely made up story. And sure, part of it is but, for the most part it’s the truth. Ned stays silent for a few moments. Silently working his jaw like he’s trying to find words to speak with. He seems to finally find them though.

“You’re tellin me that you, Peter Benjamin Parker, are Tony Stark’s personal intern?” 

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you.” Peter says it with much more confidence than he actually felt about the situation. Which he’s glad for.

“Dude ...that's so  _ cool! _ Why didn’t you just say that before? Oh my god my best friend knows Tony Stark. Oh my god I’m only one degree of seperation from Tony freaking Stark.” Ned keeps rambling on, asking questions when his brain work past the shock for the rest of the time they’re together. Peter suspects he’s going to be getting questions over text for a little while too when they have to split up to go home.

\-----

Once Peter got home, he spoke with May about his day with Ned before going to do his homework. After that it was just a matter of having dinner with May and waiting for her to fall asleep so he could go on patrol. It was his usual way, wait till about 10 PM and stay out till about 1 AM. Sure it wasn’t conducive to a healthy sleep schedule, but crime never slept, or at least that’s his reasoning to himself.

It was a quiet patrol that night. A couple of bike theifs, a few attempted purse snatchings. The most exciting one had been an attempted robbery at a bodega. The robber hadn’t even had a chance to get a shot off before his hand was being webbed to the counter. Peter decides to call it a night early at 12:30 instead of the usual 1. He gets back into his room quietly and changes into his pajamas and decides to look at the servers that Mr. Stark had mentioned. 

Peter had just turned his tablet on and logged into the shared server when a chat popped up in the right hand corner of his screen.

**Boss:** _ Underoos, I know I’m known for burning the midnight oil. But shouldn’t you be asleep? _

Peter doesn’t think he should be nearly as surprised as he is that Mr. Stark is still awake. But what shocks him even more is that he had decided to send Peter a message again. Peter debates with replying before deciding that it would be rude not to.

**Underoos:** _ shouldnt i be asking you that mr stark? _

**Underoos:** _ also did you really have to make these our usernames? _

**Boss:** _ Well I am the Boss and you are Underoos so I don’t see anything wrong with it. And as far as sleeping goes, I don’t have classes at early o’fucking clock do I? _

**Underoos:** _ i guess not but dont you have a company to run? _

**Boss:** _ Nope, that’s Peppers job. My job is to throw money where she says it needs to be thrown. Speaking of that, I think this week you and I are gonna take a little trip down to the prosthetics lab this week. I’ve been working on the new arm and I want their input on it.  _

Peter watches as a file appears on their server labeled simply as ‘Arm Mark II’.

**Boss:** _Give that look. Tomorrow. Not tonight. Tonight, as your boss, I am ordering you to go to bed. All of this will be here tomorrow._

Peter rolls his eyes a little. Who knew that Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man could be such a mother hen. But then Peter is surprised by a large yawn that makes his eyes water. He is tired, but he enjoys speaking with Mr. Stark, he thinks he can maybe drag this out a little longer. Peter goes to open the file, but when he clicks on it he keeps getting an ‘Access Denied’ message.

**Boss:** _ I told you kiddo, it’ll be there tomorrow. Seriously Peter, I know you’re Spider-Man, but even heroes need their rest. Believe me, I speak from experience.  _

Peter can imagine Mr. Stark saying that last part with that distant look in his eyes. He wishes he knew what happened so he could help him. Maybe he could ask him again someday later. When Mr. Stark is a little more solid.

**Underoos:** _ alright mr stark you win ill go to sleep.  _

**Underoos:** _ BUT _

**Underoos:** _ you have to promise to at least get out of the lab and go back up to the penthouse! _

Peter watches the text bubble appear, disappear, and reappear for a few minutes before finally getting a reply.

**Boss:** _ Anybody ever tell you you’re too smart for your own good? _

**Boss:** _ Alright fine. But I want it noted that I’m doing this just so you’ll go to sleep. Clear? _

Peter lets off a quiet snort of laughter while typing out his response.

**Underoos:** _ crystal mr stark.  _

It’s a few minutes later when he gets a reply from Mr. Stark

**Boss:** _ Alright kid I’m in the penthouse. Happy? _

**Underoos:** _ yep! :) _

**Boss:** _ Well that’s all that matters I guess. Alright kiddo, now go to sleep. _

Peter lets out another large yawn.

**Underoos:** _ alright good night mr stark _

**Boss:** _ Night bud. _

Peter shuts everything down and crawls into bed. Once his head hits his pillow he finds he can barely keep his eyes open. That night instead of the nightmares surrounding Uncle Ben he dreams he’s in the lab with Mr. Stark working on his new arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more thing before you head out. IF you'd like you can follow my tumblr which is https://son-of-the-waves.tumblr.com
> 
> It isn't a specialized blog or anything but it's there if you'd like to come scream at and with me about Irondad and his spiderson.


	6. Unexpected Turns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s standing in his private garage waiting on Happy and Peter to get there. He had told Peter that they would be visiting the prosthetics lab today so that Tony could drop off and discuss the ideas he’s had for the next arm. Tony stands there next to the elevator dressed in a tan suit, there isn’t much reason for him to be dressed so nicely. But, it had been a while since he had much of a chance or reason to. But he figures if he’s going to be around his employees he should look a little more put together instead of wearing grease stained jeans and Black Sabbath shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here's chapter 6! Please note that there has been a new tag and character added but I'll also add a TW here at the end of the note. 
> 
> Now a little update for the fic over all. I finally finished ch8 and it is the longest chapter so far! I won't give the exact number because I want it to be a surprise. I've also finished ch9 and am working on ch10. But I've come to the conclusion that a bi weekly update schedule is just better for me. Especially because I'm taking the limiter I had in place on how long I was going to keep each chapter. 
> 
> Alright enough of my rambling.
> 
> TW: Panic attacks

It was Friday, which meant it was an internship day with Petrer. Tony and Peter had been texting most of the week, mainly talking about the arm schematics that Tony had sent over Monday night. But also about the kids everyday stuff too, Tony learned that Peter’s friend...Ted? Ned? Whatever, had seen the kids new phone and had given him the third degree about it. But, Peter had assured Tony that everything was fine and that he had handled it. 

Tony’s standing in his private garage waiting on Happy and Peter to get there. He had told Peter that they would be visiting the prosthetics lab today so that Tony could drop off and discuss the ideas he’s had for the next arm. Tony stands there next to the elevator dressed in a tan suit, there isn’t much reason for him to be dressed so nicely. But, it had been a while since he had much of a chance or reason to. But he figures if he’s going to be around his employees he should look a little more put together instead of wearing grease stained jeans and Black Sabbath shirt. 

As he’s waiting he looks over his collection of cars. It’s one of the few things that had always brought him joy. He looks over at the most recent addition, a 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 429. Tony had found it this week as he had been scouring the web, testing out what he’s dubbing his technopath abilities. He hadn’t actually been searching for a new car to add, but once he'd seen that it was only body and engine, nothing else; He knew he had to have it as a project car. 

Sure the body is pretty rusty and the engine is going to have to be torn down for there to be even a chance of it running. But, the frame was straight and while it may be rusty, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be sanded down. Tony wants to restore it, but more than that, he has some upgrades in mind too. He’s pulled out of his thoughts when he hears the garage door opening and the sounds of the Audi S4 coming down. 

Tony stands up from where he was leaning against the wall and straightens his suit jacket sleeves and buttons a single button on it. The first one out of the car is Happy, which is really no surprise seeing as how he’s used to opening the door for Tony or Pepper. But, he doesn’t have to do that with Peter, the kid opens his door just as Happy makes it around. Tony can only see the little frown between his friends eyebrows after knowing the man for so long. Peter gives Happy a beaming smile.

“Thanks Happy!” Tony watches as his friend melts a little at that show of genuine thanks. 

Happy gives a nod and a small smile “Sure kid.”

Tony decides this is a perfect time to make his presence known “What he gets to be called Happy but I can’t be called Tony?” 

Happy jumps a little but Peter doesn’t react at all beyond turning his head towards Tony and blinking at him, a small smile coming across his face. 

“Sorry Mr. Stark, but you’re the Boss so…” Peter trails off smile turning into a smirk. Tony just shakes his head, a grin on his face.

“Well if that’s how you’re gonna be Underoos.” 

Tony lets out a chuckle as Peter lets out a small groan at the nickname. He watches Happy look around the garage before stopping on the Mustang before turning back to Tony, nodding his head at it.

“I meant to ask earlier Boss, where’d you find that rust bucket?”

Tony raises both eyebrows and brings his left hand up to his chest “Happy that is extremely rude. She isn’t a ‘ _ rust bucket’” he says it with air quotes “ _ she’s a diamond in the rough my friend.”. He sees Peter look over to the car in question before looking back at Tony, head cocked to the side a bit in confusion.

“What kind of car is that Mr. Stark?” Tony motions for both of them to follow him into the waiting elevator. 

“That, spiderling, is a 1969 Mustang Boss 429. Only 900 were built and I’ve been looking for one on and off for years.” They get to the lobby to drop Happy off. Tony gives the other man a gentle punch on the shoulder on his way out. “Thanks for picking up the kid Hap.” Happy just gives him a nod and walks out into the lobby. They start making their way up again.

“Why have you been looking for so long? I mean, I would think since you’re, well, really rich, you’d be able to find one easy?” Tony looks over at Peter who seems to be blushing a little at the bluntness of his question again. And maybe before Siberia he’d be annoyed with it, but now he just finds it endearing and refreshing.

Tony gives Peter a smile when the kid finally looks up at him “You aren’t wrong bud. But the thing is, I’ve been looking for one like the one down in the garage.” 

Peter cocks his head to the side again “Really rusty?” he asks the question like he can’t really believe what Tony is saying.

Tony lets out a snort before shaking his head “No I didn’t want it because it was really rusty. I wanted it because it’s a blank slate.” The elevator stops on Tony’s personal lab level first, they both walk out and down the hall, into the lab. “Drop your bag off at your desk. Did you bring your tablet with you?” Peter gives an affirmative hum as he walks over to his desk. “Alright bring that with you. Oh and bring your badge too. I don’t need Hap ranting at me about ‘Protocol’.” Peter gives a snort as he walks back over to Tony, putting his lanyard over his neck and carrying his tablet.

They make their way out of the lab and back to the elevator. Peter picks up their earlier conversation like they never really left it off. Tony has to admit he’s a little surprised but mostly thankful. It’s been a while since he found someone that could go back to a topic after a detour like it was nothing..

“What did you mean you wanted a blank slate for the car?” Tony looks over to see Peter already looking at him with a slightly confused look on his face.

“Well, a lot of the people who own those cars tend to do a lot of work with them. Anything from minor details like paint color, to major details like what kind of modifications they make to the engine. And those tend to be great for that person because that’s what that person likes. But, it’s not something I like.” The elevator stops on the 50th floor and they step out, Tony leading Peter towards the proper lab.

“So what you’re saying is that you’d rather make those decisions from the ground up?” Tony turns his head and gives Peter a smile.

“You got it in one kid.” Tony stops in front of a door, placing his right hand on Peter’s shoulder. Peter turns to look up at him, a nervous look at the edges of his forced calm demeanor. Tony turns so that they stand facing one another, bringing his other hand up and placing it on the kids other shoulder. “Hey there’s nothing to be nervous about alright? The people in that room are just big nerds like you and me. You have nothing to worry about, you’re gonna do great and they’re gonna love you. Which probably means they’ll try and steal you away from me.” Tony gives Peter a crooked grin which makes the kid smile at him. 

He watches as Peter takes two deep breaths before looking up at tony and with a determined look and gives Tony a nod to show he’s ready. Tony gives a nod in return with an encouraging smile and turns back around. 

“Alright kid, swipe your badge here” he points to an area where a small light housing an LED is. Peter brings his badge up before waving it in front of the area where Tony had pointed. The LED turns green indicating that the door is now unlocked. “Perfect.” He opens the door before it locks again. “Every door from floors 40 to 99 has the reader in the same location. So if you need to come down here to one of the labs and I’m not with you then that’s where you’ll swipe your card.” Peter gives him another nod as they walk into the room.

“Alright Peter, show time.”

\----

When Tony and Peter walk into the lab they’re greeted with two people in the trade mark white lab coats standing around a circular table that has holograms floating above it. They’re speaking with one another quietly. Thankfully Tony’s been working on keeping his senses in check and while he can still hear what they’re saying, he isn’t allowing his brain to process what they’re saying. The talking stops when one of the people notices them enter the room properly. 

“Dr. Stark! I’m so glad you could join us today!” Harry, the lead on this team walks forward and brings his left arm up for a handshake. The subtlety is truly impressive, Tony doubts almost anyone else would notice.

Tony uses his mechanical hand for the handshake, a little smirk on his face “Harry. You know if you wanted to look at the arm all you have to do is ask.” He takes a little joy in watching the other man’s face heat up a little in embarrassment. But is more glad to see a good natured smile on the doctors face.

“Apologies Dr. Stark, I just didn’t want to be rude.” Tony gives a snort of laughter before Harry releases the hand shake. Tony brings the same hand up to rest on Peter’s shoulder, hoping to ground the kid in the moment.

“Yea yea, save your manners for the board. Anyway, where’s everyone else? I don’t want to keep stopping to make introductions.” Just as he finishes the sentence Tony hears the door unlock and open. He turns his head to look over his shoulder to see the two other members of the team walk in carrying cups of coffee.

“Sorry! Krishna and I have been here most of the night so we needed some caffeine.” one of the new comers, Ryan, speaks up. Tony nods his head in understanding before walking fully into the room. Keeping his hand on Peters shoulder.

“I know how that goes. Alright everyone I’m gonna do this once before we get started.” He makes a gesture towards Peter with his free hand “This is my personal intern Peter.”

He watches Peter give a shy wave “Hi everyone.” the team gives him a wave back.

“Peter this is the prosthetics team. Beside me is the head of the team Dr. Harrison ‘Harry’ Jones.” Harry is an older man, in his late 50s with a shaved head and clean shaven face, with bright green eyes. Harry gives a wave and a smile.

“To his right is Dr. Camran Hyde” Hyde is younger, in their mid 30s, a darker complexion. They have shaved sides with dreadlocks that have colorful beads in them. They also have warm eyes that remind Tony of amber. 

“Hello Peter it is a pleasure to meet you! Just to let you know I use they/them pronouns.” Tony watches out of the corner of his eye as Peter just nods his head.

“Awesome, thanks for letting me know doc!” Peter responds with a smile that is returned.

Tony can’t help but feel a little proud of the kid. He knows that Peter comes from a much younger and much more open generation. And while he knew the kid probably wouldn’t even bat an eye at it, he had been a little worried that he could have been wrong. But seems his worry was for naught Tony thinks.

“To their left is Dr. Krishna Patel.” Krishna looks to be around the same age as Hyde. Has waist length dark hair and a tan complexion. She has dark brown intelligent eyes.

“It’s very nice to meet you Peter!” Tony is very glad to see the team reacting warmly. Though not that he didn’t think they wouldn’t. And it seems that Peter is warming up along with it.

“It’s nice to meet you too Dr. Patel!” 

“And last but by no means least we have the baby of the group Dr. Ryan Beard, only a year out of school and already changing the world.” Tony watches as Ryan blushes a little before giving a smile at Peter.

“Sorry Dr. Stark but I don’t think I’m the baby anymore. How’s it going Pete?” Ryan extends his fist out to Peter who taps his fist back against Ryans. Ryan is a little on the shorter side like Tony and has a slight build. He has blue hair this time around and gray eyes that are covered with glasses. Unlike the rest of them Ryan is the only one not from the city. Instead He’s from North Carolina.

“I’m good thanks for asking!” Peter gives him a warm smile as well.

“Alright now that you’ve all been introduced why don’t I tell you why I asked to meet with all of you.” with a thought to the systems Tony saves all the work that had been going on before clearing the displays and bringing up the schematics that he and Peter had been working on. He hears Peter let out a tiny ‘Whoa’ though he’s positive that he’s the only one that heard it. Tony makes a mental note to start discussing some of his other abilities that he’s slowly discovering. Tony makes a gesture this time to bring the hologram into full display around the room. 

“These are schematics for a new arm for me personally. I know you guys are focusing on finalizing the arm and socket I’m using and I have no intentions of diverting any of that attention.” He notices both Hyde and Ryan’s shoulders sag a little in relief at that. “The kid and I have been working on it this week. I came up with the base design but it’s gone through some changes over the week.” 

Tony takes great joy in watching the team react to the fact that he had let Peter, a kid by all intents and purposes to them, work on the project.

Harry is the one to break the silence “Am I to understand that you’re asking us to look over the design?”

Tony nods his head “I am yes. The outer shell I’m confident in. I’ve changed from the titanium and carbon fiber that you’re using to the same alloy I use for the suits. Lighter weight but stronger. Don’t worry, what you’re using is great for people in everyday situations but I need something a little stronger is all.” They all nod their heads in understanding, though he sees Peter stop himself from, what Tony thinks, asking a question. He’ll come back to that later. He continues on “My main concern is the inner workings. I don’t know how changing the material will affect my ability to detect pressure and do precise motions.”

Both Tony and Peter watch as the team walk around the room, expanding the schematics in areas focusing on the wire harnesses and sensors each speaking to one another in rapid fire. Tony and Peter just look at one another with a raised eyebrow, both of them seeming to agree to let the others work it out on their own. It takes a few minutes before they all come back to stand around the table in the center of the room.

“After looking at your materials and everything you’ve done we believe that a change in materials should not change anything in a negative way.” Harry says it with all the confidence of a man at the top of his field, Which he is of course. Both Tony and Peter let out sighs of relief, Tony had briefly mentioned to Peter that he had a concern that a change in material could potentially result in negative results. Seems the kid had been more worried than he had let on. Tony pats him on the back and gives him a smile when Peter looks up at him.

Tony turns his attention back to Harry “Will the alloy react badly with the socket?” Harry shakes his head.

“No, it should be just fine Dr. Stark. I don’t believe you have anything to worry about. When do you think you’ll begin fabrication?” Tony hums a little as he scratches his beard in thought.

“Probably today. It won’t be the final product but I’d like to get a prototype going now and be able to work out the bugs.” Harry nods his head. He sees Ryan perk up a little.

“Would you need any help Dr. Stark?” And damnit if he doesn’t sound hopeful. But Tony needs them to stay focused on their project. The board is breathing down his neck about it and he wants to be able to fully show it off before the next stockholders meeting.

Tony puts on what he hopes is an apologetic smile “Sorry Ryan but I need you here with the rest of the team to finalize everything.” Ryan looks a little dejected but puts on a smile nonetheless.

“I totally understand Dr. Stark.” Tony gives a nod. 

With a flick of his hand his and Peter’s work disappears, being replaced with what was up before they had come in. “Alright I appreciate you guys making the time to look that over. And if Me and Pete run into anything we can’t handle, I'll be sure to call on you guys to point us in the right direction.” All of them give a nod. “Alright kiddo time for us to head out. Oh.” Tony stops before turning around fully. “I’ll be sending Peter here down here every now and again to get some experience.” He looks directly at Harry with a playful smile on his face “If I catch wind of  _ someone _ trying to poach my intern from me the consequences will be severe.”

Harry lets out a full laugh “Don’t worry Dr. Stark, I wouldn’t dream of trying to, as you put it, poach your intern.” 

Tony gives a snort and turns around, giving a small wave over his shoulder “See that you don’t Indiana” He hears an indignant snort before hearing Peter give a quick goodbye before catching up with Tony at the door.

“Oh like Indiana Jones! That’s a good one Mr. Stark!” Tony lets out a loud laugh as they walk down the hall towards the elevator.

\------

They make it to the lab and since they intend to actually work on things today Tony knows he needs to change clothes. He might be able to buy new suits everyday for the rest of his life, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t appreciate them. 

“Alright spiderling, I need to go change clothes before we get started.” He points to where his snack area is, along with the new fridge that he had installed after realizing how much of a pain in the ass it was to have to constantly go upstairs for a drink. “Grab a snack and a drink and get your desk set up. I don’t think you’re gonna need the hoodie by the way. We’re gonna be going in and out of the fabrication area which gets fucking hot.”

Tony watches as Peter nods, taking his hoodie off and setting it on the couch beside his backpack. “Alright kiddo be right back.”

Tony rushes upstairs, when he gets there he’s met with a familiar sight. So familiar and yet so wrong now. Oh so wrong. She’s sat there on the couch, boots in front of it with her feet tucked under her. It’s something he’s seen thousands of times before now. But now there’s a growing pit in his stomach. He fully opens his mind to FRIDAY and finds her unresponsive. That discovery sends a spike of anger down his spine, just enough to cut the panic that had been building.

“Romanoff.” It’s a cold and detached word that comes out of Tony’s mouth. Like he has no warm memories tied to it. He did. Before all of this, before Germany and Siberia. She had felt like the sister he never had, but had secretly wanted. Now she feels like nothing more than a crack in his defenses. “What the hell did you do to my AI?”

For her part Natasha doesn’t even seem surprised. And why should she be when she’s broken into his  _ home _ . She just holds up a small device that Tony accesses immediately. He discovers it’s a type of jammer and immediately disables it, also forces the power cell to short circuit the board. He takes immense pleasure in watching it smoke while Natasha drops it in surprise. Tony can feel FRIDAY come back online slowly, he sends a signal down to Rhodey telling him to activate the War Machine armor and post it in sentry mode outside the lab. The last thing Tony needs is for Natasha to meet Peter right now.

She breaks the silence first. “I’m glad to see you alright Tony.” 

Tony gives a dismissive snort “Please Romanoff, let’s skip all the bullshit fake pleasantries and get to the reason why you’re breaking into my home.” he watches as Nat deflates a little at his cold and ruthless tone.

“Fine. I came to just get a few things from my old room. But it was empty.”

Tony can feel a panic attack at the edges of his mind. Fighting desperately to take control. But he grits his teeth and moves on. “Yea well maybe if you hadn’t abandoned ship then maybe I wouldn’t have sent your shit off to storage the first moment I got.” Tony is alerted that Rhodey is in the lab with Peter and that War Machine is standing guard. That is at least one worry taken off his mind. Rhodey wouldn’t let anything happen to the kid. 

“Now if that’s all Romanoff it’s time you leave. I won’t even call Ross and tell him you were here. So get the fuck out.” He drops the cheery tone he had affected at first. Already tired of pretending.

Tony watches as she finally starts moving. She puts her boots on and stands up. But, instead of walking towards the elevator she walks in the direction of Tony. He feels his breath hitch in his throat and his muscles go tense, anchoring him to his spot. She looks him over before looking him in the eyes. Eyes that aren’t covered with his sunglasses, sunglasses that he left in the lab.

“What happened to you Tony?” Tony thinks he might hear actual concern but he pushes that away. Instead he decides to tap into his growing anger.

“Why don’t you go ask your friend  _ Cap _ what happened Romanoff. I won’t tell you again. Leave. Now.” It’s low and dangerous. A promise of retaliation if she doesn’t leave.

Natasha looks him dead in the eye for a few more seconds before she lets out a small sigh. She walks back over to the couch picking up a pair of sunglasses and makes her way towards the elevators. When she’s finally gone and FRIDAY confirms she has exited the building Tony makes his way over to the couch. He sends an all clear to Rhodey before he’s sucked into a panic attack. Faintly aware of FRIDAY calling out for him. But it’s too late. He’s already been pulled into the void. 

Forced to relive his memories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this far if you have! As always comments are welcomed and if you want to follow me my tumblr is son-of-the-waves.tumblr.com


	7. Witness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Peter turns the corner he’s met with the sight of Mr. Stark just sitting there, staring ahead at the blank TV screen. If Peter couldn’t hear his heartbeat then he would think that Mr. Stark was just lost in thought. But it isn’t just the heartbeat either. Mr. Starks eyes are glazed over and they hold none of the light that they did just half an hour ago. His face is as pale as a piece of paper as well. Rhodey rushes forward and sits down beside Mr. Stark, putting his hand on the knee closets to him and starts to squeeze it. 
> 
> When Rhodey speaks it’s a gentle tone, like he’s speaking to a scared animal “Come on Tony. Come back, you aren’t there. You hear me? You aren’t there. You’re in New York, in your tower, you’re home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here's the newest chapter. We finally get to use that Peter and Rhodey tag out. This was a difficult chapter to write, purely just from writing, I was having some serious writers block for it and I feel like it shows. But, I've fussed over it enough and I don't think there's much else I can change that would make me happy with it.
> 
> One more thing before I let you go. The bi weekly update schedule is working like a dream, I've finished chapter 10 and I'm about half way through chapter 11. I've also been hired on for a new job and will be starting my orientation this week, it's nights so that shouldn't really affect my writing to much but still.
> 
> Alright that's enough of my rambling.   
> Next update should be 2/24/2020
> 
> As always comments are welcomed!

Peter had just opened his second granola bar when the lab doors banged open behind him. He jumped to his feet immediately, taking the fighting stance he used on patrol, only to be met with the War Machine armor. He was about to ask what was wrong when FRIDAY spoke up. 

"Colonel, Boss request that you remain in the lab with Peter while the armor stands sentry at the door." Peter took note that FRIDAY sounded worried as soon as he felt his sixth sense go off.

It didn't feel like it was saying that he was in danger. Rather, it felt like it was alerting him that there was danger somewhere close. Peter watched as Col. Rhodes stepped out of his armor, turning around to grab what looked like a pistol out of a compartment in the suit. That set Peter to high alert. 

"Col. Rhodes what's going on?" Peter asks as he watches Col. Rhodes take up a planted stance in the middle of the lab, directly in front of the doors, aiming the pistol.

"I don't know kid. All I know is Tony sent me a red alert and told me to come down here in the armor." Peter's confused. Mr. Stark had left to change out of his suit, he'd only been gone 5 minutes. Peter can't help but wonder what could have happened in the span of 5 minutes. 

"What does a red alert mean?" the Colonel hesitates a moment, like he's debating how to answer before settling for an answer.

"A red alert means there’s a hostile in the tower. And if I had to wager a guess, that hostile is with Tony. Do you know where he is Peter?” He looks over his shoulder at Peter with a raised eyebrow.

Peters eyes go wide in shock. The words reverberating in his head. 

_ Hostile in the tower.  _

_ Hostile in the tower.  _

_ There’s a hostile in the penthouse.  _

_ Hostile with Mr. Stark.  _

Peter's jogging towards the door before he even realizes it. But he's stopped when a strong grip grabs the back of his shirt. 

"Let me go! We have to go help him! He’s in the penthouse alone!" he fights the grip on his shirt before he hears the faint sound of fabric tearing and a strong, cold voice speak up. 

"Stand down Peter. I'm helping Tony by doing exactly what he asked me to do." 

If Peter had been calmer he might have known to not argue with a voice like that. But he wasn't calm. He was anything but calm. 

"And what's that? Huh?" his question has the heat of his anger and worry behind it. But the reply he gets is colder than an iceberg.

"Protecting you." 

It’s these simple words that break Peter out of his desperation to get to Mr. Stark. He turns around to look at Col. Rhodes and though his face is impassive, he can see the worry in the older man's eyes. Peter relaxes in Col. Rhodes grip, hanging his head guilty. The Colonel lets go of his hold on Peter’s shirt before putting that hand on his shoulder, drawing Peter back to stand beside him, clapping Peter on the shoulder lightly before bringing his hand back up to grip his pistol once more.

“I get it Parker. I really do. But if Tones thinks this threat warrants both the armor and myself standing guard then the only thing I can do is respect his orders. And the only thing you can do is keep yourself here and safe. Alright?” 

Peter doesn’t know how to answer. Here’s the man that has been Mr. Stark's best friend for at least 20 years, if not 30, trying to comfort Peter. Peter who hasn’t really even known Mr. Stark on a personal level for even a month. But despite that they’re both stuck here in the lab, until whatever's happening is over. Peter decides he wants to be useful to Col. Rhodes in whatever way he can be right now.

Peter looks up to the older man “Tell me what I can do to help Colonel.” and somehow he has the same voice he has when he has the mask on. Confident, calm, like he can do anything. Col. Rhodes looks at him out of the corner of his eye before nodding his head.

The Colonel looks around the room for a moment before his eyes land on an empty metal desk that’s off to the side of the room.

“Bring that table over here and tip it on its side, legs facing us. Even with my armor out there I’d rather be safe than sorry.” 

Peter immediately nods his head and rushes off to where the table is, picking it up like it weighs nothing before rushing back to the Colonel. He places it so that Col. Rhodes is directly in the middle of it. The older man looks down before nodding his head. 

“Alright Peter two things. First one bring over the chair that doesn’t have any wheels that’s to the side of Tonys desk.” Peter nods his head and rushes to get the chair. He’s back in no time, setting it down behind Col. Rhodes. The man immediately sits down, quietly hissing as he does. Peter must not be able to hide his worry quickly enough before the older man looks up. “ Don’t worry about me kid, I’m fine.” It’s said with an air of finality. 

Peter nods his head “What was the second thing, sir?” Col. Rhodes motions his head back as he looks back at the doors. 

“Tony keeps spare ammo in locker 25. It’s locked, the code to unlock it is 8367, get two clips.” Peter hesitates for a moment. But he decides that he’d rather the Colonel be prepared. 

Peter rushes to the appointed locker and enters the code. When it opens he’s met with just two clips in the locker, but he doesn’t have time to worry about that right now. He grabs both in one hand, closing the locker with the other, and rushes back to Col. Rhodes. When he gives them to the man, he watches as he positions both on the edge of the table.

“Alright thats it Pete. Now pop a squat, we could be here for a while.” 

Peter nods sitting down beside the Colonels legs, his back to the table. Closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. He keeps his eyes closed for a little while before he hears Col. Rhodes speak up.

“Oh and Pete one more thing.” Peter looks up at him instantly at the ready “Call me Rhodey.” he gives Peter a little smile. 

Peter gives a tired smile, leaning his head back against the table and closing his eyes again “Sure thing Rhodey.”

Rhodey gives a small, almost evil sound laugh “Tony is going to be so jealous.”

\------

It feels like an eternity before they get any sort of update, but his phone tells him it’s only been 10 minutes.

“Colonel, Boss has given the all clear. I would suggest going to the penthouse immediately.” Peter is on his feet in no time, he looks over to see Rhodey is too. Fear clear on his face.

“Is he hurt Fri?” Rhodey asks as he’s making his way towards the lab doors as quickly as he can, Peter right behind him. Peter doesn’t want to even acknowledge the sense of dread that’s growing in his stomach at the question.

“No Colonel, but I believe he is having a PTSD induced panic attack.” Peter notes that while FRIDAY still sounds worried it isn’t as strong.

“Shit.” is all Rhodey says before they manage to make it out of the lab. Peter watches as he deposits his sidearm back into the suit before sending it away. To where Peter isn’t sure, and doesn’t really care right now.

They both rush to the elevator that seems to thankfully go quicker than usual. Neither of them say anything, their worry and concern rolling off each other in waves.

They finally make it to the penthouse. There isn’t any damage that Peter can see, but his ears pick up a heartbeat. It’s a frantic sound, too quick for it to be healthy. Rhodey instantly pivots and makes his way further into the penthouse. Peter isn’t sure what to do but decides that he’s come this far and he wants to make sure that Mr. Stark is truly alright, physically at least.

When Peter turns the corner he’s met with the sight of Mr. Stark just sitting there, staring ahead at the blank TV screen. If Peter couldn’t hear his heartbeat then he would think that Mr. Stark was just lost in thought. But it isn’t just the heartbeat either. Mr. Starks eyes are glazed over and they hold none of the light that they did just half an hour ago. His face is as pale as a piece of paper as well. Rhodey rushes forward and sits down beside Mr. Stark, putting his hand on the knee closets to him and starts to squeeze it. 

When Rhodey speaks it’s a gentle tone, like he’s speaking to a scared animal “Come on Tony. Come back, you aren’t there. You hear me? You aren’t there. You’re in New York, in your tower, you’re home.” 

Peter stands off to the side feeling awkward. But it seems Rhodey has another idea for him. He motions Peter over to the couch, Peter hesitates for a moment, feeling like he’s intruding on something that he shouldn’t be. But Rhodey just makes the motion again while nodding his head. Peter takes a deep breath before walking over to the couch and sitting down on the other side of Mr. Stark so that Mr. Stark is sandwiched between himself and Rhodey.

Peter notices Rhodey grip Mr. Starks knee tighter before reaching out and grabbing one of Peters hands that had been fidgeting in his lap. Rhodey places his hand on top of Mr. Starks that had been resting on his other knee. Peter stares at Rhodey in mild panic. He doesn’t understand why the other man thinks Peter touching Mr. Stark right now is a good idea. Rhodey finally looks up and mouths the word  _ squeeze _ at him. 

Peter looks down at the hand his is on top of. It’s Mr. Starks cybernetic arm, he sees Rhodey do the same before quietly cursing to himself before quickly standing up, grabbing Peters elbow and bringing him with. Rhodey pushes Peter down where he had been sitting and sits where Peter had been. Putting his hand back on Mr. Starks knee and squeezing again, nodding his head at Peter to do the same to Mr. Starks hand.

This time Peter doesn’t hesitate, deciding that, again, he wants to be of help. He picks up Mr. Starks hand, turning it palm up before interlocking their fingers together. Peter begins to gently apply pressure while Rhodey starts speaking again.

“Remember Tones? It’s a lab day with Pete. You said you guys were gonna work on the new arm. I couldn’t get you to shut up about it.” Rhodey looks up at Peter expectantly. 

Peter’s at a loss of words for a moment before deciding that he should just ramble. “Yea r-remember Mr. S-Stark? I kept saying that you sh-should put a re-repulser in it? A-and you kept telling me n-no? Because y-you said you c-couldn’t trust y-yourself with constantly h-having one?” Peter increases the amount of pressure he’d been applying as he finishes speaking.

Rhodey snorts out a laugh “Yeah, that sounds about right kid. Knowing you Tones you’d probably use it during a board meeting when one of them cut Pepper off one too many times huh?” it’s said lightly but Rhodeys’ face doesn’t match the tone- Peters’ thoughts are cut short when he feels his hand being squeezed back. Peter jerks his head up to look at Mr. Stark.

Mr. Stark is still pale but his eyes look less glazed over and Peter notices his heartbeat is slowing down. The older man slowly turns his head to look at Rhodey “You aren’t wrong Honey Bear.”

Mr. Starks voice is rough and shaky, but it’s better than the silence is what Peter decides. 

The hand in Peters’ grips back tighter before Mr. Stark turns back to look at him “I told ya kid, nobody else would trust me having a repulser on me at all times. Not even this guy.” he gives Peter a shaky smile before his head drops to the back of the couch, turning so he’s staring up at the ceiling.

Peter grips his hand tighter in return. Rhodey speaking up before Peter can get the chance to reply.

  
“Just breathe Tony, just breathe.” he looks at Peter “Kid do you mind going to get him a glass of water?” Peter nods his head and is about to let go of Mr. Starks hand before his hand is gripped even tighter, Peter thinks Mr. Stark might even be dipping into his increased strength.

Peter looks up just as Rhodey does to see Mr. Stark shaking his head “Kid stays” Peter looks at Rhodey out of the corner of his eye to see a look of absolute shock. But the older man just closes his eyes and shakes his head with a small fond smile.

“Alright Tones, kid stay-”

Rhodey is interrupted before he can finish.

“You’re staying too.” Peter sees Rhodey look back up with a grin.

“Never said I was going anywhere.”

Mr. Stark just nods his head before looking back up. “Fri,  _ Fellowship _ .” 

Peter’s confused before the room darkens and the TV in front of them starts playing the opening theme of  _ Fellowship of the Ring _ . Peter watches as Rhodey gets comfortable, leaning into the back of the couch. Peter does the same, forced to sit with his shoulder on Mr. Starks bicep. They watch the movie in silence for 30 minutes or so until Peter hears quiet snoring coming from beside him. He looks up at Mr. Stark to see him with his eyes closed and mouth slightly open. 

Rhodey gives a snort “Yea. Saw that coming a mile away.”

Peter looks over at Rhodey “Is he alright?” Rhodey nods his head.

“Yea kid he’s fine. He’s always drained after a panic attack, especially ones like that.”

  
Peter nods his head while he debates the question that has been on the tip of his tongue since the lab. He decides to just ask, Mr. Stark had told him he appreciated when Peter asked something straight forward. He hopes Rhodey does too.

“Rhodey, what did FRIDAY mean when she said ‘PTSD induced panic attack’?” he keeps his voice low so as to not wake up Mr. Stark, who still has a surprisingly strong grip on Peters’ hand even in sleep.

Rhodey lets out a sigh and is quiet for a moment before answering “Kid, Tony has been through a lot in his life. And these past few months have been some of the worst I’ve seen since the early days of Iron Man. As far as what he might have been seeing today? I can take an educated guess. But it isn’t my story to tell, nor is it my place. And while today has shown that Tony trusts you, he might not want you to be weighed down by his trauma's.” He looks off into the distance before continuing “But something tells me you and Tony are a lot alike and that sooner rather than later you’ll know all about it too.”

They sit in silence after that, Peter lost in thought as to what the last part of what Rhodey said could mean. Rhodey breaks that silence.   
  
“Alright come on kid. Help me get him horizontal. His body may be enhanced but it doesn’t mean he still can’t get a crick in his neck.” 

Peter nods his head and gently untangles his hand from Mr. Starks. He stands up gently as Rhodey does. Rhodey puts a hand under Mr. Starks head before turning to Peter. 

“Grab his legs and bring them up.” 

Peter nods his head and does as he’s told while Rhodey guides Mr. Starks head down to a waiting pillow. Peter sees a blanket hanging off the back of the other couch and makes a split second decision. He walks over and grabs the blanket, unfolding it as he walks back over and tossing it over Mr. Stark. Rhodey gives him a smile and a nod before gesturing towards the kitchen area. 

When they get there Rhodey speaks at a much more normal, but still quiet, volume “Small Fri, send Pepper a message, let her know what’s going on.”

“Of course Colonel.”

“Pete why don’t you and I head back down to the lab yea?”

Peter looks back out at Mr. Stark asleep on the couch. Not wanting to argue with Rhodey but also wanting to make sure that Mr. Stark is still ok. Rhodey gently punches him on the shoulder, getting his attention back.

“Don’t worry kid, Pepper will be up here to make sure he’s not alone when he wakes up.”

Peter only hesitates for a second longer before giving a nod.

\----

Peter and Rhodey make their way back down to the lab in silence. Though, thankfully Peter can’t help but think, it isn’t full of the tension from earlier. It’s a comfortable silence, both seemed to be lost in their own thoughts. When they make it back down to the floor of the lab Peter remembers Rhodey sending the armor somewhere but he wasn’t sure where. He decides to ask the question he had thought about earlier. 

“Hey Rhodey, where do you send the armor when you aren’t using it?”

Rhodey looks over at him as they walk into the lab with a questioning eyebrow raised. “Tony hasn’t shown you the armory yet?” Peter shakes his head, confused as to why Rhodey’s confused.

Rhodey shakes his head a little, looking sad “No I guess he wouldn’t.” he lets out a sigh before he nods his head walking back out of the lab and down the hall to another room. Peter hadn’t even known was there. The doors are larger than the others he had seen so far. He watches as Rhodey inputs a code into the door. As the doors open Peter is met with a room bigger than the lab and the foundry put together.

There are large cases on three of the four walls all lit up but it seems only one of them is in use currently, a display above the case reading ‘War Machine’.

“ _ Whoa _ ” It’s all Peter can say. Even with the other cases empty, he can still imagine them there. All the armors that Mr. Stark had built over the years.

Rhodey puts a hand on his back and guides him further into the room. Peter notices all of the tables, like the ones in the lab. There are parts and tools everywhere, seemingly covering every available surface they can. In the center of the room are two elevated pads, above the pads there seems to be mechanical arms. 

“Believe it or not those are how Tony and I used to get in and out of the suit. Before Tony figured out how to make it easier, we had to wait for JARVIS and the arms to help us out. I bet you can imagine how much time that took.” Peter notices that Rhodey gets a little choked up when saying ‘JARVIS’ but he decides to leave it alone. 

It takes Peter a few moments to finally pick his jaw up off the floor. “This place is incredible Rhodey!” Peter walks up to the case with the War Machine armor in it. Staring up at the faceplate with awe. He finally looks around the room again one more time before turning back to Rhodey. 

“But….” He looks around one more time “When he told May that he was taking a break from Iron Man I just figured he wasn’t going to be putting on the armor again for a while. But I get the feeling that it means something much different.” 

Peter looks back to Rhodey, who has a slightly pained expression on his face looking at the empty cases before turning back to Peter. A sad smile on his face.

“Yea Pete I think it does. Though after today I’m not sure if that’ll stay true.” He looks back around the room again before settling back on Peter “After ...Everything, Tony decommissioned all of his other armors. And he hasn’t been back in here since.” 

Peter nods his head “Something really serious must have happened. I mean I already knew that, what with the new arm and all of that. But for him to not have any suits? It’s just hard to wrap my head around.”

Rhdoey gives him a sad smile “I feel the same way kid. It’s hard to think of a time before the armors. But now it’s like I can’t imagine him building or upgrading anything else. Well except maybe cars.”

“I saw the ...Mustang?” Rhdoey nods his head “That he bought earlier today. It sounds like a fun project.”

Rhodey nods his head, a happier smile on his face before he starts making his way towards the doors. “Alright c’mon kid back to the lab with us.”

Peter follows along thinking about all the suits that could be stored in that room.

\----

When they make it back to the lab, Peter makes his way back over to his desk, not really sure what to do with himself without Mr. Stark there. Luckily for him Rhodey seems to sense this.   
  


“I know this isn’t what you had in mind for your lab day Pete, so why don’t you do your homework and then head home? Or maybe go on patrol? I can order dinner while you do your work?” 

Peter nods his head, glad that Rhodey had given some sort of help in what to do. “Yea. Yea that sounds good. I don’t want to worry May going home earlier than she expects me to.” Rhodey nods his head.

“What did Tony do for dinner last time?” Before Peter can answer FRIDAY cuts in.

“Last Friday Boss ordered Pizza for Peter and himself.” Rhodey nods his head before looking up.

“Small Fri did you save the order?”

“I did Colonel.”

“Good. Order whatever he did last time, but add a large of my usual too.”

“Right away Colonel. Would you like for it to be sent to the lab?”

Rhodey nods his head “Yea that sounds good Fri. Have Tony’s sent up to the penthouse.”

“Yes Colonel.”

After their exchange Rhodey looks back over at Peter, who is now sitting at his desk with his school things out and pen in hand “You need any help with any of that Pete?”

Peter looks down at his homework, it’s a smaller pile than usual thankfully, but his APUSH homework will probably take him some time to work through. He looks back up at Rhodey with a smile and a shake of his head.

“Not unless you’re really good at U.S. History?” Rhodey gives a snort.

“I’m better at it than Tony. But no. Now if it were U.S. Military History I’d be able to help out.”

Peter gives a small snort “Sorry Colonel, they don’t have an AP U.S. Military History class. And honestly, I don’t know if I could stay awake through it. APUSH is hard enough as is.”

As soon as he finishes Rhodey is lightly punching him on the shoulder again.

“Listen here Parker, you’re supposed to save that sass for Tony. Not me. Because I’m your favorite Avenger right?” Rhodey is looking at him with a smirk.

Peter puts on his most innocent face “I’m sorry Mr. War Machine sir, but Iron Man is my favorite Avenger.” 

Rhodey is silent for a moment, just staring at Peter. Peter worries that he may have crossed a line until finally the older man breaks. Rhodey is bent over his stomach laughing hard, Peter even catches a tear or two rolling down his cheeks. It’s a little while before Rhodey can speak again.

“Alright, I’ll give you that one. That was hilarious, Fri save that and send it to Tony.” Peters’ face goes totally red in embarrassment.

“Yea didn’t think about that one did you?” 

Peter is saved from responding by FRIDAY.

“Colonel your order has arrived.” 

Rhodey gives FRIDAY his thanks and walks over to the lab doors to get the pizza. Peter’s surprised to see Ms. Potts there holding them, she walks in and sets them on Mr. Starks desk. She gives a small wave and smile to Peter, he takes note of the worry in her eyes before returning the smile and wave. Ms. Potts walks over to Rhodey whispering for him to come out into the hall. Rhodey follows her and the doors shut, when they do Peter is surprised once again that he can’t hear anything outside of them now. He turns back to his notebook and turns it to one of the last pages and makes a small list titled ‘Q’s to ask Mr. Stark’. Peter writes the few down that he had thought of earlier and by the time he finishes Rhodey is coming back into the lab alone, looking much more stressed than before.

“Is everything alright?” Peter asks when Rhodey sits back down at Mr. Starks desk.

Rhodey looks back at him, clearly trying to mask the worry he’s feeling “Yea kid, nothing for you to worry about. Do you want to do your homework first or eat?”

Peter just shrugs “I can do both at the same time. If you need to go do something I can stay here until I finish. It’s really no big deal.” Rhodey is already shaking his head.

“I don’t need to go anywhere Pete. I just need to do some paperwork stuff is all. But I can do it here, c’mon get your pizza. It’s better warm in my opinion.” He says it in a tone that suggests this is an argument he’s had before. And Peter suspects it was with Mr. Stark. On multiple occasions. If he had to guess.

Peter walks over to the fridge in the corner and grabs his two drinks before asking over his shoulder “Rhodey what drink do you like?”

“Just a water is fine kid thanks.” Peter nods his head and grabs the man his bottle of water and walks back over. Grabbing a pizza box in exchange for the water bottle.

Peter makes his back to his desk and sets everything down in places where they won’t get in the way of his work while also being in reach. He sees Rhodey doing the same out of the corner of his eye. Once they’re both settled they each begin on their own respective work, Peter has a background curiosity on what kind of paperwork Rhodey could be doing. But he decides against asking. 

\-----

They’re in those same positions two hours later when FRIDAY breaks the silence. Causing both Rhodey and Peter to jump in their seats.

“Peter, Boss is requesting you in the penthouse.”

Peter whips his head to the side to look at Rhodey with wide panicked eyes. He hadn’t said anything but he’s been worried that Mr. Stark won’t want him coming around anymore after Peter had seen him post panic attack. But, Rhodey looks like he was expecting this and he doesn’t seem to be worried. His sixth sense isn’t telling him anything either, though he supposes this wouldn’t be putting him in danger.

Rhodey looks over at him with a small smile “Well up you go kid, don’t want to leave the Boss waiting would you?” it’s said in a light teasing tone. 

Peter shakes himself from his stupor, gathers all his courage before standing up and walking towards the doors. Just before he walks out Rhodey calls his name causing Peter to turn around.

“You’re gonna be fine Peter.” It’s said with such confidence and certainty that it leaves no room for his own insecurities to argue with it. Peter nods his head before turning back around and opening the lab doors.

When he finally makes it to the penthouse he can hear what sounds like a movie or tv show quietly playing in the background and only one heartbeat. A heartbeat that he’s grown accustomed to, found some comfort in its steady and strong rhythm. Peter walks further in, coming around the elevator area to see Mr. Stark sat on the couch he had left him asleep on earlier. But instead of the suit he was wearing he’s now dressed in a black t-shirt, grey joggers and socks, he has a few pizza boxes and drinks open in front of him as well. 

Mr. Stark looks up at him when he comes in and gives him a warm smile. Peter notes the marked improvements since he was up here last. Mr. Starks face is no longer pale, and his heartbeat is steady, and his eyes, while tired, are clear and warm. 

Peter returns the smile, walking a little further in. Mr. Stark pats the couch beside him. Peter quickly walks over and sits on his left, deciding that if Mr. Stark still needed physical contact that it would be more helpful if he could feel more than the pressure.

“Hey bud.” Mr. Stark still sounds tired, but his voice isn’t as rough.

Peter gives him a smile “Hey Mr. Stark.”

“Sorry about cutting our day short. I know we were both looking forward to it.” Peter’s already shaking his head.

“Mr. Stark you have nothing to apologize for! I’m just glad you’re ok.”

Mr. Stark gives him a small smile “You think maybe your aunt would let you come over tomorrow? Or should we hold off till next week?” Peter’s eyes go wide. 

“I could ask Aunt May about coming over tomorrow. But I’m not really sure what reason I could give her?”

Mr. Stark looks at him for a moment in silence. It’s like he’s weighing options in his mind before coming to a decision.

“Tell her the truth.” He pauses for a second. “Or well, a version of the truth. I don’t want your aunt worrying about intruder alerts. Especially when it’s never going to happen again.” Mr. Starks voice goes hard and cold at that last part. He stares off into the distance for just a second before coming back to himself. “Anyway. Just tell her I had a panic attack in the middle of our work and that you hung out with Rhodey until it was time for you to head home. Tell her she can even call me if she wants, to make sure that I’m ok with you coming over tomorrow. Sound good?”

Peter thinks long and hard about it. He had mostly finished his homework before coming up, so that wasn’t an issue. He and May didn’t have anything pre-planned for that Saturday either. And, if Peter is being honest with himself, he really wants to work on this new arm. He gives Mr. Stark a nod and a bit of a shy smile.

“So long as you’re ok with her knowing Mr. Stark.”

Mr. Stark gives a shrug “She’d find out one way or another. At least this way I know how she’s finding out.” 

That actually makes a lot of sense in Peters’ mind “I can ask her tonight when I head home?”

Mr. Stark nods his head.

“Yea that sounds good. Let her know that she can call tonight or in the morning. If she has no problem with it then just let me know what time you’re coming over either way yea?”

Peter gives an enthusiastic nod of his head “I will Mr. Stark!”

Mr. Stark just gives him another warm smile before reaching out and ruffling Peters hair. Laughing when Peter gives a groan in protest. Peter watches as Mr. Stark looks at his watch before looking back at him. 

“Alright Pete, it’s 7:30 so I think you should probably go ahead and start heading home.” 

Peter nods his head and stands up from the couch. Mr. Stark does the same and starts walking towards the elevator, Peter follows.

“I’ll let you know what Aunt May says Mr. Stark.” Peter says as they reach the elevators. The doors opening without a button being pushed. Peter walks in, turning around to face Mr. Stark again who gives him a small wave.

“Sounds good underoos. Talk soon.”

Peter gives him a warm smile and a nod “Talk soon.”


	8. The Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony had nearly started working on a new Arc Reactor unit after Peter had left. With Natasha having made her way easily back into the tower taunting him as his drive to start building again. But as soon as he started getting the tools ready his hands had started shaking and he had broken out in a cold sweat. Tony could feel the panic rising, almost like rising water levels, starting in the pit of his stomach. It was then that Tony decided it was still too soon to start even the preliminary work of a new suit. Even if he did want one so he could protect those around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here she is. A monster of a chapter coming from me, just at 10k words. This is one of my more favorite chapters I've written, really kinda explores some things that I've had envisioned since starting this fic. 
> 
> A couple of little housekeeping things, I started my new job last week and that really kinda killed some of my forward momentum. I'm sitting at about 1700 words on chapter 12 right now, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things here soon.
> 
> Next update should be 3/09/2020!  
> And as always, comments are always welcomed! (And I'd appreciate them on this chapter especially!)

When Peter gets down to the garage Happy is already waiting for him there. He’s on his phone talking rapidly to someone on the other end. While Peter can hear and make out what he’s saying he doesn’t follow at all. Happy is using a bunch of words that seem to have double meanings to them. The older man nods at Peter as he gets into the back of the car. Happy stays outside of the car for a little longer, finishing his phone call before getting in the driver's seat.

“Hey kid, sorry about that. Having to take care of a bunch of details after my teams ...Slip up earlier.” 

Peter’s already nodding his head “It’s no problem Happy. Really if you need to stay here then I can just walk to the subway. It’s no big deal.”

“Nah kid it’s fine. I need to get out of there for a little while before I end up murdering someone.” But again it seems the universe has other plans. 

Just as Happy finishes talking his phone begins ringing. Happy lets out a loud groan before looking at Peter in the rearview.

“Sorry kid I have to put up the partition for this one.”

Peter just gives a nod and sees a dark tinted piece of glass come up. Peter can still hear what’s being said so he decides to put his headphones in and blast one of his playlists. He settles on his happy playlist, figuring he could use a little pick me up after the events of the day.

The rest of the drive is spent like that, Peter listening to his music and scrolling through twitter and instagram. Fostering a small idea about setting up accounts for Spider-Man. But before he can go anywhere further with that idea Happy is pulling up to the curb in front of his building. Peter gets out of the car and sees Happy rolling down the window.

“I’ll see you around kid.” Peter gives a nod and a wave and starts walking up to his building.

\------

When Peter walks into the apartment he sees May setting out take out containers on the kitchen table. He makes out the smell as being Greek food. And while he may have had four out of his five pizzas, he’s hungry again. Granted that was at least three hours ago. Aunt May looks up from putting everything down and sees him standing there.

She gives Peter a big smile “Hey honey! I didn’t even hear you walk in!” She gives him a warm smile while walking further into the living room.

Peter meets her halfway and takes the offered hug. Melting a little into it, finally letting his shoulders release the tension they had been holding, letting out a sigh of relief. May leans back, putting her hands on his shoulders and looking him squarely in the eye like she’s seeing directly into his soul.

“Something happened today. What was it? Was Tony an asshole today? Because if he was-” 

“No! No May! Mr. Stark didn’t do anything! Well, at least not in the way you’re thinking.” She gives him a look that makes him look down sheepish. “Sorry didn’t mean to cut you off.” 

She gives a huff and lightly cuffs him on the back of the head “You and Ben, you two can’t let anyone get their words out.” It’s one of the few times she’s mentioned Ben since ...That night. But she’s smiling when she says it. Maybe they’re right. Time does heal all wounds.

“Alright come on, sit down and tell me what happened. Because if you don’t I’m going to assume the worse and I don’t think you or Tony want me assuming the worst.” she pushes him towards the table.

“I was going to tell you anyway you know? Partially because Mr. Stark asked me to.” that stops May dead in her tracks.

“Tony asked you to tell me what happened? Jesus, it must have been really bad.” Peter shrugs his shoulders as he finishes making his way towards the table.

“It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t great either.” May sits down across from him. Giving Peter her full attention. 

And suddenly Peter isn’t really sure where to begin. Mainly because all he knows is there was an intruder. But he doesn’t know who, or why for that matter. But he does agree with Mr. Stark, he doesn’t want May worrying about that sort of thing. Especially since peter is near 99% sure that Mr. Stark wouldn’t willingly let anything happen to him, after what he did today. 

For now, Peter decides to wing it a little. Weaving in truth with a small lie. 

“So Mr. Stark and I went to one of the other labs that he wants me in for learning stuff. Introducing me to the team behind the project and all that. After that, we were going to work on a new project Mr. Stark had an idea for. But he was wearing a really nice suit so he decided to go change out of it so we could get to work.” He pauses here for a drink of water, giving himself time to think. “He was maybe gone for 10 minutes before FRIDAY, that’s his AI she’s really cool Aunt May, anyway FRIDAY tells me that Col. Rhodes was asking for me to come up to the penthouse.”

May gives him a worried look, “I feel like I don’t like where this is going.”

“Really, it’s not as bad as you’re probably thinking. It’s just that Mr. Stark was having a really bad panic attack, and Col Rhodes thought that maybe I could help him pull Mr. Stark out of it. And I think I did? I’m not sure, but anyway, he did come out of it but he was really tired and fell asleep afterward. I would have come home but I guess Mr. Stark had told Col. Rhodes about how long I was supposed to be there so he stayed with me in the lab while Ms. Potts took care of Mr. Stark. I didn't want to worry you by being home when you got back.” Peter pauses to take a few deep breaths, realizing he hadn’t really been breathing properly while talking about the day.

Aunt May looks even more worried.

“Anyway, Col. Rhodes, or rather Rhodey, ordered us dinner and I did my homework while he did some sort of paperwork. And I was finishing my math stuff when FRIDAY told me that Mr. Stark wanted to see me. And I was really worried about him being upset about me being there while he was having a panic attack. But he just wanted to apologize for cutting our day short and asked if I thought you’d let me go over tomorrow? So that we can work on the project? We were both really excited to get started on it.”

May’s giving him a sympathetic look by the time he finishes “Peter I really don’t know if that’s a good idea. I mean if he had a panic attack that bad then maybe the whole internship idea isn’t a good idea right now.”

Peter is immediately panicked. Trying to think of some way to salvage this before he remembers what Mr. Stark had said before he left, “He said you could call him if you were worried about it.” Peter really hopes he doesn’t sound as desperate as he is. He doesn’t want to give this up. He’s just gotten it for crying out loud!

She’s giving him a skeptical look “I don’t know Peter…” 

“Please, Aunt May.”

May looks at him for a moment before closing her eyes and sighing. She stands up from the table and starts walking towards the coffee table “Alright fine Peter. But if I think for a minute it isn’t a good idea then I’m pulling the plug. Deal?”

Peter thinks it’s probably the best offer he’ll get “Deal.”

May picks up her phone and within moments it’s ringing on speaker. It only rings twice before it's answered. 

“You know, I expected this call and yet I didn’t expect it…” there’s the sound of rustling and a clang with a quiet ‘dammit’ “20 minutes after Peter got home.” 

Peter lets out a snort of laughter and can see that May is trying to not do the same.

“Ohhh am I on speaker? I am, aren’t I? Hey Pete!” 

Peter can’t explain how happy he is hearing that Mr. Stark sounds so much better than he did before.

“Mr. Stark I heard whatever tool that was fall. I hope you aren’t working on our project!” Mr. Stark lets out a laugh.

“Wouldn’t dream of it bud. No, I’m just tinkering with a new idea I head after you left.” 

May is full on smiling now, laughter in her eyes as she clears her throat. 

“Oh, I’m sorry Mrs. Parker. How may I be of assistance.” that seems to finally break May as she lets out a small laugh.

“Well, Mr. Stark if you must know I was calling after my kid just told me that you had a panic attack and yet still seemed to want him to come over again tomorrow.”

“That would be correct Mrs. Parker. And I apologize that Peter had to see me like that. But as Pepper and my newly hired therapist like to tell me, it isn’t always my fault.” Peter wants to interject that he has nothing to be sorry for but May speaks before he can.

“And they’re right Tony. Well, I had planned on vetoing this one. But, I see now I really can’t. Peter can be there after 9:30.” 

Peter hears Mr. Stark let out a near silent sigh of relief. Though he’s sure that Aunt May didn’t catch it. 

“After 9:30 works perfectly, thank you May.”

Aunt May has a small smile on her face but there’s a look in her eyes that Peter is all too aware of. “You’re welcome. But there’s a stipulation to this. I want you to come have dinner with Peter and me tomorrow.” Peter’s breath hitches and hears Mr. Starks do the same.

Peter’s opening his mouth to say that it’s alright, they can work on the arm next week. But right as he’s about to he’s cut off by Mr. Stark “You drive a hard bargain, May Parker. Alright, what time?”

May has her signature Winner Face on when she answers "How about you bring Peter home by 6?" 

Mr. Stark for his part doesn't let on to the panic that Peter suspects is growing in his chest. He just hums "6 it is. I'll see you both tomorrow. Pete text me when you're on your way." 

"I will Mr. Stark!" Peter makes a mental reminder to text him later tonight to tell the man he had no idea his aunt would do that. 

"Alright, then I wish you both a good night." 

"See you tomorrow Tony. Good night." 

\------

It’s around midnight when Peter decides to take a break from patrol. He heads for his favorite rooftop, it has clear sightlines of the whole city along with an unobstructed view of Stark Tower. Which is officially Stark Tower again now, the name being put back up and everything. Peter sits at the edge of the roof, knees drawn up to his chest, arms wrapped around his legs, head on top of his knees. It’s a nice night out, not to warm and a nice breeze coming off the river.

Peter lets his senses go a little, listening and smelling things that only a year ago would have been lost to him. He’s sat there for about 15 minutes before he decides that he should at least send Mr. Stark a text about what happened earlier. He scoots back so that he can lean against the stairwell door and take his mask off without fear of being seen. He pulls his phone out and opens his conversation with Mr. Stark. Who is actually Mr. Stark instead of just ‘Tony’ like he had been.

**Peter:** _ hey mr stark i just wanted to let u know that i had no idea that may would ask that when she called _

Peter leans his head back against the door, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. He feels his phone vibrate within a minute and he gives a small smile. Having figured that Mr. Stark would still be awake.

**Mr. Stark:** _ Pete you have nothing to apologize for. _

**Peter:** _ but if i had explained things better then maybe she wouldnt have called _

Peter watches as the text bubbles appear, disappear and then reappear a few times before he leans his head back against the door again. Letting the sounds of the city wash over him.

He’s brought out of it when his phone starts vibrating with a phone call. He isn’t surprised to see it’s Mr. Stark. Peter answers without hesitation.

“Peter when I say you have nothing to apologize for I tend to mean it.” It’s said kindly and gently but Peter can still feel his face heat up.

“Yes, sir.” Peter isn’t sure what else to say. He hears a quiet sigh on the other end.

“What did I tell you before you left Pete?” 

Peter doesn’t even have to think about it “You said that if she had any concerns to tell her to call you.”

“That’s right bud. Which means you did exactly as I asked.” There’s a smile in Mr. Starks voice “I knew that no matter how much you explained that your aunt would have concerns. You just told her that your boss had a major panic attack while you were there. Any reasonable parent would be worried about that.”

Peter lets out a small sigh of his own “Yea I guess. Still, though I didn’t know she was going to ask you to come over. If you don’t want to then you really don’t have to Mr. Stark.”

Peter can make out the sound of rustling again on the other end along with a loud pop and groan, “Mr. Stark are you alright?”

Mr. Stark lets out a small laugh “Yea kid I’m good, just hunched over the desk too long is all. And as far as dinner goes Pete… I think it’s about time she sees me post Siber-” Mr. Stark cuts himself off abruptly. Peter can think of only one place in the world with those letters in its name.

Siberia.

Whatever happened to Mr. Stark must have happened in Siberia. Which makes sense in Peters’ brain seeing as how Ms. Potts had said that Mr. Stark had severe frostbite. 

Mr. Stark starts speaking again “Post Extremis. She ought to know that her kids boss doesn’t look the same.” 

Peter decides to let his revelation go for now. Figuring that Mr. Stark hadn’t meant to let it slip.

“If you’re sure Mr. Stark.”

Mr. Stark lets out another small laugh “Bud, what did I tell Pepper when you first saw me?”

Peter does have to think about that one for a few seconds. He thinks he finally comes up with the answer Mr. Stark wants, “That you don’t do anything you don’t want to do?”

“Ding! Ding! Ding! The Spider-Baby gets it right Fri let the kid know what he’s won!” Peter can’t even stop the loud laugh that comes out of him at that. He can hear Mr. Stark laughing too. “Alright kid, I think it’s time for you to head home and get out of that suit. Early start to the day tomorrow and all.”

Peter lets out an indignant sound “Mr. Stark it’s only 12:30! And crime never sleeps! Especially this early! And how do you know I'm in the suit every time? ”

“Yea well if I’m remembering correctly your name isn’t crime.” It’s said in the driest tone Peter has ever heard someone use that it makes him laugh again.

"And as far as knowing you're in the suit, well it wouldn't take a genius to figure out. And plus you're insane if you think I'm letting a 15 year old trapeze through the city without some safeguards. But we can discuss this later." 

Peter lets the last part sink in. If he didn't know any better he'd almost think that Mr. Stark sounded… Protective? He isn't sure. 

" I guess that's fair. Alright, Mr. Stark, I'll see you tomorrow?"

“See you tomorrow bud.”

\-----

It’s been about two hours after the call and Tony is back in the lab. He had tried sleeping. Really he had, but it just ended up with more nightmares. First about the black hole, then it’s Pepper falling, then Rhodey falling, and finally the cherry on top, the shield coming down. At least it was his chest this time and not his neck like the past few times he’s had that particular nightmare.

Tony had nearly started working on a new Arc Reactor unit after Peter had left. With Natasha having made her way easily back into the tower taunting him as his drive to start building again. But as soon as he started getting the tools ready his hands had started shaking and he had broken out in a cold sweat. Tony could feel the panic rising, almost like rising water levels, starting in the pit of his stomach. It was then that Tony decided it was still too soon to start even the preliminary work of a new suit. Even if he did want one so he could protect those around him. 

So instead of stewing on the feeling of failure that had settled on Tony’s shoulders, he started working on the new braces for Rhodey. Sure Rhodey had told him that V1.0 had been great but Tony knew that they could be better. The braces could be more responsive, could take some of the strain, be made of stronger materials while making them slimmer. 

Tony’s just in the middle of walking out of the fabrication area, carrying a few small pieces of his gold titanium alloy, thinking about further upgrades he can do when FRIDAY brings him out of his thoughts.

“Boss, as per Dr. Cho’s instructions I am to enact the ‘Go The Fuck To Sleep’ protocol. You have spent six hours in the lab without stopping for a proper meal or sleep. I will be cutting power to the room in 20 minutes. Please be sure to finish any and all projects before then.”

_ ‘That goddamn protocol will be the death of my productivity.’  _ Is Tony’s first thought. He’s always done some of his best work in the wee hours of the morning running on less than three hours of sleep over the course of three days and ten cups of coffee more than anyone human should consume. But, ever since Extremis, Helen had made it her mission to curtail Tony’s insomnia. Something about being ‘Enhanced’ now and needing to ‘Take proper care’ of his body now. Sure Tony may be mature enough to recognize he’s a hot mess and that he’s never had the healthiest habits. But it’s not like he’s spent those nights drinking himself into a stupor anymore. Hell, he even doubts he can  _ get _ drunk now. Rogers couldn’t off normal ‘Mortal’ alcohol like Thor liked to call it. So Tony doubts he can now too. 

Not that he wants to. He’s been sober for 6 months now, and he hasn’t missed not being sober. 

But there are days where he just feels like the liquor would help just... Cut some of the panic he’s been feeling. Even if he knows logically that isn’t the case.

Tony continues making his way to his desk, setting down the pile of metal he’d been carrying, before speaking up.

“I hear you, baby girl, I’ll head up in just a second.”

Tony begins the process of putting his work away safely so he won’t lose any of the parts. It wouldn’t be a major deal if he did but he doesn’t want to spend 30 minutes looking for something that could be sent building instead. Once he finishes he cleans up his desk of the coffee cups and energy drink cans, along with the plates he’d used for sandwiches. With that, he spends the next few minutes just cleaning the lab. Tony knows he’s stalling, but it’s for good reason. He knows he won’t be able to sleep tonight. He knows that as soon as he closes his eyes he’ll have another nightmare.

He’s sweeping up when FRIDAY speaks up again. “Boss you have 5 minutes.”

Tony lets out a sigh. He finishes sweeping his pile towards the wall vac before putting the broom away. “Lights Fri.” the lights in the lab shut off as he walks out the doors. As Tony makes his way towards the elevator he begins to feel the nervous energy begin to build again at the prospect of having nothing to do. When he steps into the elevator he looks at the buttons on the wall and it’s almost like he can see the lightbulb go off above his own head in the reflection. 

There just a few buttons below the penthouse is the one for the gym. 

“Fri, does Helen have anything in that protocol about going to the gym?” FRIDAY doesn’t answer right away. Almost like she’s looking for some way to make him go to the penthouse and nowhere else. But finally, she does answer after a few seconds.

“No Boss she doesn’t.” Tony smiles at the hesitance in her voice. He understands, really he does. But he knows that sleep is a lost cause this night.

Tony pushes the button.

\-----

**Peter:** _ hey mr stark im on my way! _

Tony’s brought out of his workout when FRIDAY reads off the text. He had been down in the gym since he left the lab and it felt amazing. He started with his usual stretching and loosening up before getting into his usual routine. But soon found that his usual wasn’t quite cutting it. So he decided to lookup more intense routines before finding one he really enjoyed after modifying it. 

He was just in the middle of his punching bag set when the text had come through, using the bags that he had designed for Rogers so they wouldn’t break. It was swinging from side to side with a slight creak of metal on metal and there was  _ Metallica  _ playing in the background. 

Tony backed off the punching bag and looked down at his watch, seeing that it said 9:30 exactly. He gave a smile at the kid’s antics, not doubting for a second that Peter had been counting down the seconds before 9:30 before he darted out the door.

“Fri, give a reply ‘Are you swinging or taking the subway?’” 

“Sent Boss.”

Tony nods his head as he walks over to the side of the room and takes a towel to wipe his face off with. Taking a drink from his water bottle as he waits for his reply, though it seems to not be a long wait, getting a response almost immediately.

**Peter:** _im taking the subway should be there in like an hour!_

Tony takes a look at himself. He’s covered in sweat, he manages to catch a whiff of himself and immediately decides he needs a shower. And an hour should be enough time for him to get a shower, dressed and a few slices of leftover cold pizza into his system before the kid gets there. He could maybe even fit a cup of coffee in there somewhere.

“Fri, reply: ‘Sounds good kid, text me when you get here.’.” Tony starts making his way towards the exit.

The next time FRIDAY speaks Tony’s in the elevator, but instead of reading it out loud like he expected, it’s read in his mind. Causing him to nearly jump out of his skin.

**Peter:** _ will do! _

Tony rubs his forehead. He hadn’t really tested out the other abilities that had come with his version of Extremis. Tony would deny it to just about anyone who would ask, but part of him still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of having abilities. 

He continues that line of thought while in the shower. As a futurist, Tony thinks he should be happy that it appears he has the ability to control technology. It only seems fitting, which is exactly what Helen had told him. Calling him ‘Technopath’ even before Tony could tell her that was what he had been calling it. But, Tony had gone 46 years as a baseline human, and now he’s an enhanced. Which brings a whole new level of issues to the table. 

One of those big issues is registering with the accords now. Which he already is, but as an ‘Enhanced Individual’ now. Which he has no issue with really. What he has an issue with is Ross. He knows Ross, knows how the man operates and works, knows that if he found out that he or...Fuck, if he found out about  _ Peter _ … It’s with this thought that cements that Ross needs to go. Now. 

He had told Rogers that they could get rid of him when the time was right. And Tony decides that the time is now right. 

Tony is brought out of his thoughts by FRIDAY, “Boss, I believe you have 20 minutes before Peter gets here.”

_ 20 minutes?! _ Is his immediate reaction. Tony shuts off the shower and is out and drying off in no time. Walking into his closet, not looking at what he puts on until he’s ready to put on shoes. He’s proud to say that he managed to put on a balck t-shirt, and blue jeans. He figures he can take a new shirt and a jacket with him down to the lab and he’ll be set to go to dinner. He grabs a white shirt and a black bomber that Peeper had gifted him. 

Tony puts on a pair of durable combat boots that Rhodey had given him a few years ago and heads into the kitchen, grabbing 2 boxes of pizza out of the fridge before making his way towards the elevators again. Deciding that energy drinks will have to do in place of coffee for now.

\-----

Peter walks up to the tower for the first time since getting the internship. He hasn't used the main entrance before now. Each time being brought by Happy and going up through the garage. 

He pulls his phone out and sends a text to Mr. Stark.

**Peter:** _ im here! _

Peter looks back up and isn’t exactly sure what to do and is about to go ask one of the receptionists what he should do when he sees a man with a beard in a suit walking up to him.

He’s got a lighter voice surprisingly “Kid, it’s Saturday, there aren’t any tours on Saturdays.” 

Peter’s face goes red, but he keeps his head held high when he replies, “I’m not here for a tour. I’m an intern here actually but this is my first time using this entrance is all.”

The man, who Peter assumes is a security guard rolls his eyes, “Yea you’re an intern and I’m Tony Stark.”

Peter gives a snort, mouth running off before his brain can stop it “Sorry but Mr. Stark has more hair.” Peters eyes go wide in shock at his own response. He only gave snarky remarks while in the mask! Not to adults, and definitely not to adults just trying to do their jobs!

Peter watches as the guard’s face goes red with anger “Alright smartass that’s it you’re out of here.” he puts a hand Peters shoulder but Peter steps back immediately pulling his backpack around to his front.

“Wait! I have my badge right here! You can scan it or whatever and everything!” Peter opens the front pouch on his bag and pulls out the lanyard with his badge on it. Putting it between him and the guard. 

The guard looks at Peter then the badge, raising his eyebrows like he can’t believe Peter expects him to believe this. But he takes it anyway and walks over to an area near the doors that has a desk with monitors on it. The guard puts the badge under a scanner and waits for a second. He frowns at whatever’s shown on the screen before scanning again. He looks up from the screen at Peter before looking back down. He scans it one more time before sighing. 

“Fine. I guess I was wrong. I’m sorry, all you have to do is head towards those scanners, swipe your badge and walkthrough.” Peter nods his head and takes the badge back when it’s offered to him. He’s about to turn around when the guard speaks up again “And kid? Bit of advice; Put that thing on when you walk in next time.” Peter gives a sheepish smile and a salute before walking towards the area that the guard had indicated.

He makes it the rest of the way to the elevators without incident, though he had gotten some strange looks from other employees walking through. When he gets in front of the two elevators, the one on the right opens up and Peter hears FRIDAY speaking.

“Hello Peter, Boss is currently in the lab.” Peter looks around the ceiling, looking for the camera he assumes is there. He finds it in the right hand corner behind him.

Peter gives the camera a smile, “Thanks Fri! Could you take me up?”

“Of course Peter!”

It’s only a few minutes before he’s walking out of the elevator and down the hall to the lab doors. Peter can feel more than hear the  _ thump thump _ of what sounds like a song. Which is confirmed when he stands in front of the door and can hear a guitar playing and what sounds like lyrics. But when he opens the door to the lab the music cuts in volume instantly. He can still make out the music but it isn’t crowding his senses. Though Peter doesn’t think it would have even if there hadn’t been a drop in volume. 

Peter walks into the lab fully and sees Mr. Stark standing at one of the desks, a slice of pizza in one hand, phone in the other, dressed in a simple shirt and jeans, wearing heavy boots. 

The older man turns around with an eyebrow raised and a smile on his face, “Underoos! What was up with the hold up? You sent your text like 5 minutes ago.” Mr. Stark sets down his slice of pizza and puts his phone in his pocket. 

Peter feels his face heat up in embarrassment, he really doesn’t want to bring it up so, “Sorry Mr. Stark! Needed to use the restroom.” 

Mr. Stark gives a snort “Uh-huh, sure kiddo. Alright, don’t tell me, anyway you ready to get started?” 

Peter is very grateful that Mr. Stark doesn’t push the issue. Giving him an enthusiastic nod, “Yea!”

Mr. Stark gives him a wide smile, “Alright my young padawan, set your stuff up and let’s get to it.”

\------

That’s how they spend the next several hours. Either hunched over bundles of wires, gyros, a power source which Mr. Stark had decided to swap out from the one being used currently to mini Arc Reactors. Peter wasn’t allowed to touch those. 

“Not that I don’t trust you, Pete. But these things can be pretty volatile if you aren’t careful. But, I’ll show around some older, more stable models and see how you handle those. Don’t worry.” Peter gave Mr. Stark a bright smile at that. Excited by the idea of being able to work on any Arc Reactor. An amazing piece of technology that not only powered the suits but also brought around a major clean energy revolution. 

Once they seem to get the connections between wires, gyros, and reactors and wrap it around the inner framework they head into the fabrication room to start getting pieces for the outer shell. They had decided to use the same material as the suits, Peter even suggested using the same red and gold color scheme as the suits. But Mr. Stark had suggested going for a more neutral and streamline black or gray. He hadn’t been rude about it but Peter got the sense he’d do well to not push the suggestion. 

They spend another two hours attaching the shell to the frame. Finally, they come up for air, and snacks, and look at their creation. Peter thinks it may just be one of the most beautiful things he’s ever had a hand in creating, and that’s counting the Millennium Falcon that he and Ned had built over spring break last year.

“Mr. Stark… It’s incredible.” Even Peter can hear the awe in his voice. But he doesn’t care, because it’s the truth and Peter thinks he’s a little allowed to be in awe of something like this. 

A cool metal hand lands on his head and ruffles his hair a little. Peter looks up from under it to see Mr. Stark looking down at him with a fond smile on his face.

“It is kid and I have you to thank for a lot of those amazing ideas with the gyros especially.” It’s said with such genuine warmth that Peter ducks his head to hide his blush. Mr. Stark just gives a small chuckle and ruffles his hair one more time before dropping his hand. 

Peter looks at him to see that Mr. Stark is looking back down at the arm. There’s something in his eyes that Peter just can’t really place. Before he can ask if everything’s alright Mr. Stark picks the arm up and starts walking towards a corner of the lab. 

“Fri, time?”

“It is currently 4:30 PM Boss.” Mr. Stark nods his head as he comes to stand in front of a desk with what looks like some sort of… Port? On the side of a machine.

“How long will simulations take?” Mr. Stark places the arm into the port.

“Barring any issues It should be done in 20 minutes Boss.” 

Mr. Stark nods his head and looks around the lab. Peter does the same, noticing that they had created a mess in their creation.

Mr. Stark must notice the same thing, “Hey bud, can you hand me that broom over there?” Mr. Stark points to the other corner of the room. Peter looks over and without even thinking about it shoots a web at it and jerks it to himself.

Peter realizes what he’s done as soon as the broom lands in his hands. Peters face is on fire now. Thankfully he has his back turned to Mr. Stark, who he’s sure is angry. It’s so silent that they could hear a pin drop. Suddenly Peter hears a sound. And then another. And he finally hears a snort, then full on laughing. Peter slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder. 

Peter sees Mr. Stark bent at the waist laughing. As the older man continues, Peter slowly relaxes his shoulders and begins to slowly turn around to fully face Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark stands back up to his full height and begins to walk over to Peter, wiping his face with his shirt sleeve.

When he finally stands in front of Peter he reaches out and gently grasps Peter’s wrist so he can look at the web shooter sitting there.

This is a newer web shooter model that he’d built after Germany. They’re smaller now and can be hidden under his sleeves much easier now. Mr. Stark turns his wrist this way and that looking at the construction, nodding his head along as if he’s taking notes on it. 

Mr. Stark looks Peter in the eye, “You mind if we scan these? We can put them into our shared server. But I’d like to take a crack at them too. See if we can come up with some ideas for them?” 

Peter is absolutely floored by the suggestion. He was overjoyed to work with Mr. Stark on any of the man's personal projects. But the fact that he’s suggesting to work on something that Peter had built? And together no less? He isn’t sure he’s not dreaming at this point. 

But it seems Mr. Stark takes his silence for a different answer. He lets Peters arm down gently and takes the broom from his other hand “Only if you want to of course kiddo.” 

Peter’s brain finally sparks back to life “Yes! Yes, I’d love to! That’d be amazing Mr. Stark!”

Mr. Stark looks up from where he’s sweeping “Really Pete, it’s no big deal-”

“I do Mr. Stark! I was just… I don’t know! Overwhelmed! Like I know you want me to work with you on your own projects. But I didn’t think you’d want to work on something  _ I  _ built.” Mr. Stark is giving him a look of confusion.

“Kid, what the hell are you talking about? Of course, I’d want to work on something you built. You have to be one of, if not the smartest person I’ve ever met. And I’ve met a lot of smart people in my day.”

Peter has never been good with praise. But he really doesn’t know what to do under the praise of one of the people he’s looked up to his whole life.

So instead of replying he takes off his web shooter and places it on the desk beside him before speaking up, “Fri, scan those and place the file in our shared server and Mr. Starks personal server please.”

“Sure thing Mini Boss!” FRIDAYs reply is chipper. Almost like she’s smiling again. Peters face heats up at the title but he can’t even say anything before FRIDAY speaks up again. “Boss simulations and diagnostics complete. No issues found and systems are running at peak performance.” 

Mr. Stark leans the broom against a desk and walks back over to where he left the arm and takes it out of the port and looks down at it. When Mr. Stark turns back around, there’s a look of anticipation in his eyes.

“FRIDAY, time?” He asks, there’s something in his voice that Peter just can’t place again.

“4:50 Boss.” Peter watches as Mr. Stark nods his head and seems to way his options for a moment before coming to a decision it seems. 

“Well Pete, I think it’d be a shame if we did all this wonderful work and  _ didn’t _ use it.” 

With that Mr. Stark walks out of the lab. Peter lets out a noise of surprise, snatching his web shooter back up from the desk and running out of the lab after Mr. Stark. His mentor is already down the hall and standing in front of the doors that lead into the armory. 

Mr. Stark turns to look at him as he jogs down the hall, “Rhodey told me he showed you around here yesterday while I was… indisposed. I’m sorry for not showing you sooner, just… a lot right now.” A dark look crosses his face but it’s gone so quickly that Peter isn’t even sure he actually saw it. “But, this is the only space that’s going to have what’s needed so.” 

Mr. Stark turns back around and enters a code into the panel and walks into the armory when the doors open. Peter is still floored at the sheer amount of suits that could fit in the room. He sees Mr. Stark walking over to the far left side of the room, where Peter notices a chair that reminds him of a dentist's chair. 

Mr. Stark sits down in the chair and waves Peter over. When Peter is standing beside him the older man starts speaking “Alright bud, first things first, We have to take the current arm out of the socket.” 

Peter can feel his blood drain from his face “M-Mr. St-Stark?” The older man looks up from rolling his sleeve up and stops when he looks at Peters face and immediately stops what he’s doing.

Mr. Stark grabs Peters arm in a gentle but firm grip “Breathe Peter, breath for me bud.” Peter takes a deep inhale, slowly releases it, closes his eyes tight. Trying to fight off the panic building.

When Mr. Stark speaks again it’s in a gentle and calm voice, “That’s it kiddo, just breathe. In and out.” Peter does as he says “That’s it. Alright, can you look at me bud?” Peter takes one more deep breath, releases it and opens his eyes. 

Mr. Stark is giving him a small smile “Hey there spiderling. You back with me?” Peter nods his head “Alright good, now I need you to listen to me. Can you do that?” another nod, “Alright. I need you to understand, if that idea freaks you out then it’s ok. Freaks me out a little too. But if it freaks you out then you don’t have to do it, alright?” Peter looks him in the eye, searching for any hint of a lie, but all he sees is genuine concern and worry. Peter closes his eyes again and musters all his courage. 

_ I can do this. I can do this. You can do this Peter _ . 

Peter opens his eyes and looks at Mr. Stark “I-I can do it M-Mr. Stark.” 

Mr. Stark looks him in the eye for a quiet few seconds before nodding his head, a slow smile coming onto his face “I know you can Pete.” There’s a confidence behind those words that Peter tries to absorb desperately. “Alright, you see the allen wrench on the table?” Peter looks over and sees a 9/64 allen wrench and grabs it, holding it up for Mr. Stark “That's the one. Take that and take out the bolts you see around the socket insert.”

Mr. Stark walks him through the process, Peter constantly watching for any signs of discomfort. None come until the new arm is slotted in and connected.

Mr. Stark lets out a quiet hiss when Peter connects the arms wire harness to the shoulder socket. Peter stops everything he’s doing, even breathing, when he looks up at Mr. Stark. The older man has his eyes shut and his nostrils flared. But he looks over like he knows Peter is looking at him. He gives Peter a nod to keep going so Peter does. Trying to be quick but also careful. 

Finally, after what seems like hours the arm is fully hooked up to Mr. Stark. The older man lifts it from his side and holds it out in front of him, making a fist, rotating it left and right. Mr. Stark lets his arm fall to his lap and looks up at Peter. 

“You did great Peter. Good Job.” Peter gives a big smile but is cut off from replying by FRIDAY.

“Boss the current time is now 5:25.” 

Mr. Starks eyes go wide as he looks down at his watch “Well I’ll be damned. It is, time flies when you’re having fun huh kid?” Peter gives a snort and tired smile that Mr. Stark returns. Mr. Stark stands from the chair and rotates his arm in a circle before flexing it. He gives a nod of satisfaction. 

“Alright Pete, I just want to change my shirt so I’ll meet you at the elevator,” says Mr. Stark as they walk out of the armory

Peter gives a nod “Sure thing Mr. Stark.”

\------

Tony walks back into the lab and over to the locker he had left the shirt and jacket in before Peter arrived. He rotates the new arm at the shoulder, it’s not that it hurts, or that it’s even uncomfortable. It just feels… Different. There isn’t any other word that Tony can use to describe it.

Tony has just taken his shirt off when he hears the door open. He turns around thinking it may be Rhodey or Pepper come to discuss something with him. Who Tony isn’t suspecting is Peter to be standing in the open door, his face aflame with what Tony suspects is embarrassment. His eyes are wide in horror, looking Tony in the eye before his eyes flit down and are staring directly at his chest.

Tony’s chest that has a long scar going across it diagonally. Thanks to Extremis it looks long healed instead of it looking like the month and a half old wound it actually is. 

Tony takes a deep breath, fighting the urge to run right past the kid, into the elevator, and up to the penthouse. Never to be seen again. He lets go of the breath and picks up the shirt he was changing into, putting it on, feeling like he was donning a new form of armor all over again. But, it seems to pull Peter out of his staring, and out of his head.

“I-I’m s-sorry Mr-Mr.Stark! I uh, I-I for-uh forgot my s-stuff?” the poor kid hadn’t stuttered this bad since their first meeting in his apartment. And even then he didn’t have this...look in his eyes. This look of sorrow, and hurt, and concern that Tony has no idea what to do with. It’s the same look that Rhodey or Pepper had given him when they’d seen the scar for the first time. He hadn’t known what to do then and it’s only magnified with Peter. Peter that he’s tried very desperate to keep away from seeing more of the scars of his fight with Rogers than he had too.

Tony just nods his head “No worries kiddo. I didn’t think about it either. Go ahead and pack up while I finish up here.” He really hopes Peter didn’t pick up on the detached tone his voice had picked up 

Peter just gives a jerky nod of his head and rushes over to his desk and starts packing up. Tony turns back around and puts on his jacket, hoping it would help give him another sense of security, but it doesn’t. And somewhere, Tony had known it wouldn’t. Knew that there’s one thing that would give him that sense of safety. But he had promised himself that he wouldn’t wear them around Peter. He promised himself that he would be more open and trusting with the kid than he had been with anyone else. Because that’s what Peter deserved. 

Tony looks over at the top drawer in his desk, knows that he has a pair sitting right there on top. 

Without even realizing, Tony has started moving over to his desk. It only hits him when he’s opening the drawer and looking down at his red tinted sunglasses. Tony lets out a sigh, knowing he’s broken one of the few rules he’d set himself. He picks them up and slides them onto his face and instantly starts to feel better. Tony tells himself that he’ll only wear them on the drive over to the Parkers apartment. That as soon as they get there he’ll take them off and leave them in the car.

He turns around to face Peter who’s looking at him with his bag slung over his shoulder, “Ready to go spiderling?”

Peter jumps and shakes his head a little, like he’s trying to clear it, “Yea Mr. Stark ready to go.” Tony gives him a smile and raises his arm towards the door, motioning Peter to lead the way.

“I think we’ll take one of my less… Showy cars. Don’t want the press getting wind of this. I doubt you or your aunt want reporters hanging around your place all the time.” Tony says as they walk into the elevator, having already decided to take one of his SUVs with dark tinted windows as to not draw suspicion.

“Yea. I don’t think that would really help trying to keep Spider-Man on the down low either.” Tony gives a snort as they walk out of the elevator.

Tony takes the lead, walking towards the SUV he’d chosen in his mind. It’s an Audi of course but one that a lot of suburban moms and dads had. Nice enough to enjoy, common enough to not draw any eyes. Tony thinks it might just be one of the smartest purchases he’s made in a while.

Tony slides into the driver seat and is glad that Peter chooses to sit up front instead of in the back. 

He starts the car and starts driving towards the exit “Alright Pete, I don’t normally do this, but why don’t you pick what we listen to on the way over?” 

Tony can see the look of surprise on Peters face “Are you sure Mr. Stark?”

“Sure kid.” 

Peter gives him a smile “Thanks, Mr. Stark!”

\----

The rest of the drive is spent listening to Peters music and talking about nothing things really. Tony thinks the kid has decent taste, though a little too much Top 40 for his personal taste. They seem to share some shared interest in some classical stuff, telling Tony that he really enjoyed listening to some of the kids in his band class play it for warm ups. And Tony telling Peter that his mother played piano and played some of those same pieces for him as a kid. 

Tony had been worried that Peter might ask questions about the scar. Where he’d gotten, how he’d gotten, or maybe even who gave it to him. But, thankfully the kid had left the topic alone, which in turn had allowed for Tony’s panic and anxiety to settle down, with the help of Peter’s music and small talk. 

Tony has calmed down enough in fact that he follows through with his promise of taking the sunglasses off when they park in front of the kid’s apartment. Leaving them in the cupholder. 

Peter is the first one out of his seatbelt and out of the car, already around to the driver’s side by the time Tony has opened his door. Tony can almost see the nervous energy coming off of Peter in waves, vibrating at high frequency. Once Tony is out of the car Peter is very quick to lead them into the lobby of the building before darting towards a door labeled ‘STAIRS’.

Tony doesn’t question why they don’t use the elevator. Knows the kid probably just needs a way to let some of his nervous energy out. And it seems to be a routine, and Tony isn’t one that wants to break that routine. Peter takes the steps two at a time, flying up them like he swings around the city, quickly and a bit clumsy but endearing all the same.

They’re up the four flights of stairs in no time, neither of them to even be breathing heavy. Though if Tony focuses a little he can hear Peters heartbeat beating just so ever slightly faster. But to be fair to the kid so is Tonys. Peter stops them in front of his door, hand on the doorknob but he doesn’t open it. He turns back around to look Tony in the eye, looking like he’s searching for something. Tony gives him a small smile and a nod of his head. Peter returns the nod before opening the door. 

They walk into the apartment and are met with what smells like some sort of tomato based sauce. But there's also a hint of something burnt under it. 

Peter seems to notice it too, "May?" he calls out, sounding nervous. 

Tony hears something  _ clang _ in the kitchen before May Parker comes around the corner. She looks as beautiful as she did when they first met. But she also looks a little frazzled Tony thinks. 

"Peter!" Tony watches as she gives her nephew a warm smile before turning to him.

Tony watches as she takes in the changes on his face. The scars at his hairline and jaw, the darker, longer hair, the longer, much more full beard, before finally stopping at his eyes. No longer the brown she had seen when first meeting but a bright blue. Tony Watches May's eyes widen in surprise, hears her breath catch in her throat before she clears it.

“Tony! It’s so good to see you again! Thank you so much for agreeing to come.” Tony nods his head giving his best Public Smile.

“Well like I said Mrs. Parker, you drove a hard bargain.” Tony walks forward and on a split second decision, brings his right hand up for a handshake. He hears Peter take a small gasp at his side. “Thank you for inviting me back into your home. And for letting Peter come over today, he was a huge help.” 

“Please, it was the least I could do t-” May cuts off as she brings her own hand up to shake Tonys. She looks down at their joined hands and, seemingly in slow motion, Tony watches emotions run across her face, the main one seeming to be confusion. Which is confirmed when May speaks again. 

“What happened?” Tony isn’t sure if he imagines the undertone of anger and he doesn’t want to know if he is. 

He releases her hand and lifts his up to face level, “Oh this?” Tony rotates his hand before making a dismissive gesture, “You know how it goes, the hero gets in a fight and doesn’t always come out on the other side unscathed.” Tony says it in a light and airy tone. 

May’s giving him a hard stare but before she can say anything else Peter cuts in, “Uh Aunt May. The timers going off.” 

Tony watches in mild fascination as May’s face shifts from a hard stare to one of mild panic, she lets out a quiet “Shit” before she rushes back into the kitchen. Tony drops his shoulders minutely and he hears Peter let out a quiet sigh. He looks over at Peter, who looks as exhausted as Tony suddenly feels. And as much as Tony doesn’t want to ask, he needs to know what he’s dealing with before they sit down.

“Pete.” Peter looks up at him, “Give it to me straight kid, did she sound angry?”

Peter shakes his head before stopping and does the ‘kinda’ movement “I don’t think she’s angry at you. More that neither of us gave her a heads up? But she’s mainly worried. Believe I know that Tony anywhere.” Tony searches his face, hoping that Peter wouldn’t lie to him. He doesn’t see anything there that would say he is so Tony just nods his head.

It’s quiet for just a few seconds until “Peter can you help me carry this out?” May calls out from the kitchen. Peter is quick to jump from his spot beside Tony, heading into the kitchen. A minute later May leads Peter out of the kitchen, May carrying what looks like a large salad bowl and Tony assumes, Peter is carrying the main dish. They each set their respective dishes down on the table before heading back into the kitchen. Leaving Tony to stand awkwardly in the living room. They come back out This time May carries a bottle of wine and a wine glass, Peter carries two bottles of Coke Zero and a tray of bread.

Peter is the first to set his things down, he looks over at Tony and cocks his head to the side “Mr. Stark?” Tony takes that as his invitation to come join them at the table. He walks over and Peter motions for him to take the seat to his right, which puts him directly in front of May. And while Tony may be rude to some, he refuses to be rude to Peter and his Aunt.

He gives both May and Peter a smile of thanks before taking his jacket off and draping it over the back of his chair. May is the first to sit, followed by Peter and Tony. Immediately they fall into the rhythm of passing dishes around, first salad then the main dish, which seems to be a basic ravioli dish, but it looks good nonetheless. All three are quiet as they begin to eat, Tony and Peter keep sending nervous glances to one another. Tony is struck with a moment of indecisiveness, unsure whether he should breach the subject himself or to let May dictate the pace.

But, if there’s one thing Tony can’t do, it’s silence. Silence has felt stifling since he was a child in a too large and too silent house, “So. Mrs. Parker. I assume you have questions. Which is fair. And I want to assure you that I will try and answer your questions to the best of my ability. But I’d like to stress that there are things that I can’t…. Talk about. Some for security reasons. Others for personal reasons. But it is not to keep you from any sort of truth.” 

May looks over the rim of her wine glass at him. A strange look on her face before she closes her eyes and releases a deep sigh. When she opens her eyes again she looks much more willing to listen, “First I want to apologize. Peter had told me there had been… Changes, but that he hadn’t been sure of what he could or couldn’t tell me. And while I don’t know what I assumed, it certainly wasn’t that. And I’m not the biggest fan of surprises.” She gives Peter a smile here like they’re sharing an inside joke. “But that doesn’t excuse my response.” 

Tony is quick to wave away her concerns “May really. It’s no big deal and I totally understand. So please, ask away.”

And that’s how they spend the majority of the dinner. May asking questions and Tony answering to the best of his ability. She spends a large amount of time on the medical side of things, which makes sense in Tony’s mind with her profession being a nurse. Thankfully by the end of the evening, Tony has both Peter and May laughing, telling the more PG-rated stories from his and Rhodeys days at MIT.

Tony isn’t sure how much time has passed but May looks at her watch and her eyes go a little large, “Oh my god it’s almost midnight! I hadn’t even realized.” Tony’s a little surprised as well.

It had been a very long time since he’d been out of the tower for this long in the past month and a half. Tony starts to stand, piling his fork and knife on to his plate before going to pick up Peters. 

Just as he’s about to pick it up “Tony leave that please, Peter and I can get it.” 

Tony looks up at her with a raised eyebrow “May, I know I was raised a spoiled brat, but even Momma Rhodes managed to drill a few things into my brain. And one of those was the guest helps the host with cleaning up.” 

May’s already shaking her head and standing from her chair. She reaches across the table and takes Tony's dishes from him before taking hers and Peters and starts making her way back towards the kitchen “Peter why don’t you walk Tony out?” 

Tony just shakes his head with a small smile before calling out “Thank you May! It was a pleasure to see you again. And thank you again for dinner!”

“You’re welcome, Tony! And you’re welcomed back anytime!” 

Tony shakes his head again before looking down at Peter, who has a smile on his face so bright it could power the city. Peter stands up and starts making his way towards the door, Tony on his heal putting his jacket back on. 

They make it to the door, and Peter has his hand on the doorknob and is just about to turn it before Tony stops him with a hand on his shoulder. Peter turns around with a raised eyebrow and his head cocked to the side, which just makes Tony smile. 

“You don’t have to walk me out kid, stay here and help out your aunt, seeing as how she won’t let me.” 

Peter gives him another smile “Sure thing Mr. Stark!”

Tony watches as Peter steps forward and begins to bring his arms up before he suddenly stops and drops his arms back to his side, hanging his head again to hide his embarrassment. 

Tony’s a little shocked for a second. 

_ The kid was going to hug me. He was going to actually hug me? Should I hug him?  _

As soon as the thought crosses his mind he knows it’s the right thing to do. He doesn’t know how. Or why. He just knows. So, taking a deep breath, Tony steps forward and quickly wraps his arms around Peters shoulders, tucking his head under Tony’s chin. Tony can feel Peter’s body stiffen before melting into the hug. Burying his face into Tony’s chest and wrapping his arms around Tony tightly.

“Thanks for today, Mr. Stark. I had a ton of fun.” Peter says quietly, voiced muffled by Tony’s shirt.

Tony hugs him a little tighter “Me too bud.”

They stand like that for a few more seconds before Peter backs away, face red but with the biggest smile Tony has ever seen, “I’ll see you soon Mr. Stark?”

Tony just smiles and ruffles Peter’s hair “Yea bud.” 

With that Tony opens the door and walks out of the Parkers apartment with a smile on his face a spring in his step. 

  
  



	9. Oppressor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rhodey’s eyes go wide. He hasn’t had to pull out the old barber kit since he and Tony had graduated from MIT. His show resumes and while he can pay attention half his mind is lost in memories. Memories of sitting in his dorm with a 15 year old kid that was insecure about looking like a kid. A 15 year old kid that quietly asked him to cut his hair so he could appear just that much older. A 15 year old kid that asked him how to shave for the first time. Rhodey’s 15 year old little brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, this chapter serves to just move some plot points along. I have to admit it was hard writing the later bits because I just don't know if I write conflict well. But, this story can't be all pure fluff, much like in cooking a dash of bitter enhances the sweet. 
> 
> Also please note I've added a new character and a new tag.
> 
> Housekeeping: Work has been going well but this week I'm working a string of longer shifts. It isn't to bad but It's probably gonna kill any drive I have to write. So, with that said I may end up pushing chapter 10 back too. I don't really want to, but I enjoy having a larger buffer when posting and I'm just now getting started on chapter 13. If 10 doesn't come out on 3/23/2020 then look for it to come out between then and no later than 3/30/2020. Thank you in advance for understanding. Alright enough of my rambling.
> 
> As always, comments are always welcomed!!

Tony is sat behind the desk in his office, looking over all the material he’s gathered on one Thaddeus ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross over the years. Starting with the experiment to create a new super soldier serum using gamma rays, to his off the books prison out in the middle of the Atlantic, and everything in between. He’s positive that there’s enough here that even with Ross’ connections that he could at least have him taken off and placed far away from the committee. But his brain is just on this side of fried after not really sleeping.

Tony looks at the clock on his desk and sees it’s 8:05 in the morning, which means that Rhodey has gotten up, done his PT, had breakfast and showered. Meaning Tony can bother him. 

“Fri, where’s my favorite Platypus?” he asks as he leans his chair back, stretching his back.

“Col. Rhodes is currently in his quarters. Would you like for me to relay a message?” 

Tony can’t help but smile. His baby girl is learning and growing so quickly now. Tony nods his head “Ask him if he can spare his best friend in the whole world a moment.”

Tony closes his eyes as he waits for a reply, but it isn’t a long wait before Rhodey’s voice fills the room “And where oh where would this best friend in the whole world be?”

Tony lets a smile crack his face “I’m in my office. I’m looking over some things and I need your expert opinion.” he hears Rhodey let out a dramatic sigh.

“Fine, but only because you need an expert.” 

Tony lets out a small chuckle “You’re the best Honey Bear.”

With that Tony knows the comms have been cut and that Rhodey is on his way up. And he has no doubt that Rhodey will bring two cups of coffee. Claiming that he was bringing his own and just didn’t want to hear Tony's whining of not having one too. But Tony knows it’s because Rhodey loves him. 

He’s still leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest, and eyes closed when he hears a knock and the door opening, the smell of coffee hitting him “You know Tony, you actually have a bed you could use for this whole sleep thing.” It’s a statement, not a question.

Tony gives a small smile, still not sitting up or opening his eyes. He hears Rhodey walk further in, coming around the desk to stand behind Tony. There’s something warm pressed against his flesh arm, without thought he wraps a hand around the handle of the coffee cup and savors the smell and warmth it brings with it. 

It’s silent for a moment, Tony knows that Rhodey’s looking over the files and papers scattered across the desk. He hears the other man walk back around the desk and settle in the chair across from him, quietly sipping at his coffee. Seeming content in letting Tony figure out how to approach his questions. Tony takes a drink of his own coffee, truly savoring the flavor and the way it seems to settle his nerves just enough.

He finally leans forward after a few minutes of enjoying the quiet with his brother. He looks Rhodey in the eye, who in turn sits up straighter. Seeming to recognize that this wasn’t a simple ruse to get coffee. 

“I want Ross gone.” his words are cold. Detached. It’s the voice of a Tony few know. But Rhodey knows it as ‘Anthony’. For this isn’t Tony, or Tones, or even Stark. No. This is the Businessman, the Merchant. 

Tony knows the distinction as well. He has ever since Rhodey had explained it to him after going to a Gala held by Tony’s father when they were both still in college. 

Rhodey takes a deep breath in, steeling himself “Alright. Do you have a plan for that?”

Anthony nods his head, making a sweeping gesture over his desk, “Everything here are the things Ross has done, or has even remotely been tied to. From the gamma experiments, to the RAFT. It’s all here. But, my question to you is: Is it enough? Is it enough to at least get him off the Accords Committee and kept away from it?” 

Rhodey looks back down at the desk again, picking up a file at random and reading over it. His face stays emotionless, but Tony has known Rhodey long enough to read the horror and disgust in his eyes. He finally puts the file down and picks up another one.

Rhodey reads three more files like that. In quiet horror. 

“Fuck, are they all this bad?”

Anthony gives a humorless laugh, “Some of them are even worse.” 

Rhodey lets out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his face before looking Tony in the eye “I have to ask you something Anthony. Is this because of Extremis?”

Anthony doesn’t flinch at the question. Doesn’t really react at all besides a flare of his nostrils “Not wholly. I won’t lie to you and tell you that ‘No this is me being completely altruistic.’” He pauses to take a sip of coffee, letting the heat ground him, “I don’t want his hands anywhere near Extremis or my tech. But more importantly, I don’t want him near Peter, and those like Peter.” 

Anthony looks down into the dark brown coffee, watching it ripple at the minute movements of his hand, “Ross is putting things into this document that I don’t want. Didn’t want from the start. And it’s only going to get worse as long as he has the power to do that. Which is why I want him gone.”

When Anthony looks back up he sees Rhodey nodding along before speaking up, “We knew that he’d have to be dealt with eventually, and sooner is better than later. Especially now.” Rhodey’s quiet for a few moments, looking contemplative, before coming back to himself, “When were you hoping to do all this by?”

Anthony thinks about it for a second, he knows there’s a meeting coming up. He checks his calendar to see when, “There’s a meeting being held three days from now on Thursday at 10 AM.” 

That’s when Rhodey’s walls crumble just a little. Letting slip the nervousness that Anthony knows he’s feeling. Because he is too. But just like Tony has an Anthony, Rhodey has James and Anthony watches as James makes his way out. 

James looks Anthony in the eyes, “Send me everything you have. I’ll need to go over it all.”

Anthony nods his head, already sending everything to James’ secure server. They’re both quiet for a minute, each lost in their own thoughts. It’s James that breaks the silence first.

“If there are worse files, I think that these should be sent to someone else as well. Ross can’t be left in a position of power where he can keep doing things like this.” 

Anthony leans his chair back again, staring up at the ceiling “But who could it be turned over to? Because it’s obvious that someone higher up is supporting him.”

James is silent for a few seconds “Let me get into contact with some people I know at the Pentagon.” Anthony lowers his eyes to look at his brother, “Don’t worry, they can be trusted. And if anyone knows or thinks they can figure out how far it goes it’s them.”

Anthony stares at James for a few seconds before nodding his head, “Do it, if you trust them then I trust them.”

James gives him a smile and slowly Rhodey returns “Aw Tones, where’d that trust come from huh? Because if I remember correctly you didn’t trust me about my date to that frat party.” 

Tony gives a snort and shakes his head, “And if I remember correctly, you found her an hour after that party with another guy.” 

Rhodey gives a laugh “You’re never going to let me live that down are you?”

Tony leans forward again and gives his brother a mischievous grin “Not as long as I have breath in my lungs.”

They both breakdown into laughter.

\---

Rhodey is sat in his living room watching _Scandal_ when his phone chimes from where it sits on the coffee table beside his protein shake. He glances at the clock on the wall and see it says 8:45 PM. Rhodey knows only one person would text him right now and while he would check the message usually, this episode is getting to it’s climax and he doesn’t want to miss it.

He turns his attention back to the TV while he speaks to FRIDAY, “Small Fri do me a favor and tell Tony that this episode of _Scandal_ only has about 15 minutes left. So whatever it is he needs from me can wait till then.” 

“Of course Colonel.”

Rhodey settles back into the couch, but before he can get comfortable his show is paused, “I apologize, but I thought you might appreciate it if I paused so you did not miss anything.” Rhdoey gives a nod of thanks, “Boss has said that he can wait 15 mintues but he requests that you bring ‘Your old barber kit’ when you go up.”

Rhodey’s eyes go wide. He hasn’t had to pull out the old barber kit since he and Tony had graduated from MIT. His show resumes and while he can pay attention half his mind is lost in memories. Memories of sitting in his dorm with a 15 year old kid that was insecure about looking like a kid. A 15 year old kid that quietly asked him to cut his hair so he could appear just that much older. A 15 year old kid that asked him how to shave for the first time. Rhodey’s 15 year old little brother.

Rhodey doesn’t even bother finishing the rest of the show, rewinding and pausing where he thinks he left off before his memories overtook him. He stands up from the couch and makes his way towards his room so he can dig in his closet. While Rhodey hasn’t had to cut Tony’s hair in years, he could never bring himself to get rid of the kit that he and Tony had put together for it. It held too many memories, both good and just a touch sad. But memories he wouldn’t trade for anything. 

It takes Rhodey about 10 minutes of searching, but he finally finds the kit tucked away in a box he hadn’t opened since moving into the tower. It’s a little dusty and he’s sure the tools could use a proper cleaning but that wouldn’t take long down in the lab. Rhodey digs a little more in the same box and finds the apron too. He shakes out the apron to get rid of any dust before wrapping it around his kit and heading back out of his room and towards his door, not bothering with shoes before walking out. 

It takes him a few minutes to get up to the lab which Rhodey spends trying to remember how to cut hair again. He hadn’t even cut his own hair in several years either, he’s really hopeful that it’s a lot like riding a bike and that it’ll all come back to him. 

When Rhodey walks into the lab he’s met with Tony sitting in a chair at one of the desks, eating a sandwich with a few more on a plate beside him and another plate beside it with two sandwiches on it. Tony’s hair is wet and hanging in his face as he scrolls on a StarkPad.

“All those sandwiches for you?” Tony doesn’t even look up as Rhodey speaks, just slides the plate with the two on it across the desk.

“They’re your favorite, Crunchy peanut butter and peach jam.” Rhodey’s eyes go wide again.

The last time he had had that exact sandwich was right after finding Tony and bringing him back states side. They had both sat in the Malibu mansions kitchen that first night back, each sporting a glass of scotch, when Tony would suddenly stand up and go about making them each the sandwich that Rhodey’s mom had made them after Tony’s parents had died. 

Rhodey comes back to himself to see Tony looking at him from beneath his hair. He gives his baby brother a smile, “Damn Tones, really bound to take us down memory lane tonight huh?”

Tony gives a half cocked grin. That combined with the hair is like seeing that same kid in his dorm “Yea, really wanna remind us just how old we are.”

Rhodey lets out a laugh and picks up one of the sandwiches “So what? You don’t want to go to your usual barber?” he wonders aloud.

Tony lets out a sigh “I was going to go, but I just… couldn’t, Rhodey.” and Rhodey can hear the shame in Tony’s voice.

Rhodey walks around the desk and places a hand on Tony’s neck, gently squeezing “Hey you’re alright. I’m sorry I shouldn’t have asked that.”

Tony waves off the apology and takes a deep breath, when he releases and looks over his shoulder Rhodey can see the Tony he knows is still under all the hurt and trauma. The man that can take the weight of the world and still stand tall. 

“What'd ya say we do something about this mop of hair huh? Because I don’t know about you but I definitely don’t want to look like Shaggy when we go before the committee.” 

Rhodey gives a snort as he moves his hand up into Tony’s hair and giving it a ruffle, “Yea we can definitely do something about this.”

\-----

“Tony I swear to go if you don’t sit still I will cut off one of your ears.” Rhodey says as he steadies the scissors again.

“Hey you know that might not be a bad test for Extremis. We know it couldn’t regrow my arm because of the dead tissue around it but maybe it could grow back a freshly cut off ear?”

"Well if you don't sit the fuck still we may just find out." Rhodey says hotley, Tony just lets out a laugh. 

They continue on like that for another few minutes when the doors to the lab open and Pepper walks in. 

"Tony, we’ve been getting a ton of requests for -" Pepper cuts off when she finally looks up from her tablet and at him and Tony. She raises an eyebrow, though Rhodey can see her fighting a smile.

Tony, of course, is the first to break the silence, “Come on Pep, this isn’t the worst thing you’ve caught us doing.” and Rhodey can hear the broad smile that’s on Tony’s face.

But, it seems to be just the thing to break the little stare down as Pepper lets out a laugh and walks further in and sits down across from them. 

“Alright, I’ll bite. Why is Rhodey giving you a haircut? In the lab no less?” she asks.

“Well, I was going to do it in the bathroom. But, I have the floor vacuums that haven't had much use recently and I was feeling bad for neglecting them.” answers Tony. Though Rhodey can tell that he’s trying to dodge telling Pepper as to why.

Seems Pepper can tell the same thing, “Ok, sure. That still doesn’t tell me _why_ Rhodey is giving you a haircut.” 

Rhodey can both feel and see Tony fidget a little, and while he can understand why Tony is hesitant to tell her, Rhodey knows that she’ll find out one way or another. And, it’ll be better if she hears it from them instead of on the news or online.

After another 30 seconds of the only sound in the room being the snipping if scissors and the whirring of machines Rhodey decides to put Tony out of his misery, “Tony and I are going to the Accords meeting on Thursday. The council seems to have a cockroach problem and we intend to fix it for them.”

Rhodey watches as a series of emotions crosses Peppers face before it’s schooled back into her CEO face. She looks to Tony “Were you going to tell me about this?”

Tony’s shoulders drop “Probably?” she lets out a sigh, “Pepper you have to understand, when I told Rogers that we could deal with Ross I meant it. This was always the plan, I had just planned on taking a little longer.” Tony says the last part quietly.

Pepper looks Tony right in the eye, “What changed?”

“Peter.” Tony responds without missing a beat.

Pepper has a confused expression, “Peter? What about Peter?”

Rhodey can feel Tony going still under his hands, which he knows means that Tony needs to pace to keep himself calm. Thankfully Rhodey only needs to make one more cut to make. Once he makes the cut he takes the apron off and taps Tony on the shoulder. In an instant the other man is up and pacing. 

“I know Ross. I know how he operates and how he thinks. And I know without a shadow of a doubt that if Spider-Man isn’t already on his radar he will be soon. And then Ross will be after Peter. Because Peter is an enhanced person running around without having signed the accords. Which means that Ross could grab Peter and place him in the RAFT and do god knows what to him.”

Rhodey watches as Tony continues pacing, running and hand through his hair before shaking it out to get rid of the cut hair still there. It’s silent for a minute or two as Pepper assorbs Tony’s rant fully. When she seems to finally have done that she stands from her seat and walks over to Tony, stopping his pacing. She places a hand on his chest and one on his neck, keeping him still while also grounding him. 

“What can I do to help?” And that’s how Rhodey knows that Pepper will make a great sister-in-law one day. As soon as both of them heal from everything that’s happened.

Tony shakes his head, “Nothing really. Rhodey’s already helping out.”

Pepper looks Tony dead in the eye “There has to be something.”

Rhodey watches as Tony thinks before seeming to decide on something “Just keep the media off my back a little longer. I know I said I’d do an interview soon, but I want this handled before I do.” 

They seem to have a stare down for a few seconds before Pepper nods her head “I can do that. And I only want you to do an interview when you’re ready. You know that.” 

Rhodey sees the dopey smile that comes across Tony’s face and can’t help the smirk. Even now Tony is so in love with her and he can’t even hide it.

“You’re the best, Ms. Potts.”

Pepper releases her hold on Tony and walks back over her chair where she left her tablet, turning around to face them again. A fierce smile on her face “I know, Mr. Stark.

\----

Peter is just sitting down at his desk in his room to start on his homework when his tablet pings with a notification. He’s quick to check it. While he and Mr. Stark had texted over the course of Sunday and Monday he hadn’t heard anything from his mentor since Monday night when he had sent Peter a selfie of Rhodey giving him a haircut in the lab with the caption ‘Think I should do a fade?’ Peter had told him to do anything besides shaving his head. After that it had been radio silence. 

And Peter understood, really he did. He understood that Mr. Stark wasn’t always going to be able to text him.

But.

He had found he had gotten used, and a little attached to just...talking to Mr. Stark. 

Which is why he’s so quick to check the message that’s come through.

**Boss:** _Hey bud, sorry for being MIA the past few days. Got some things going on that have required my full attention._

Peter immediately types out a reply.

**Underoos** : _i understand mr stark! is everything ok?_

**Boss:** _It will be_

That causes a twist of a panic in Peters stomach. But before he can reply he gets another message. 

**Boss** :Sorry Pete, I shouldn’t have sent that. Really, everything’s fine.

_Everything’s not fine_ is what Peter reads. He picks up his phone and goes to his contacts, finger hovering over Mr. Starks while he debates with himself on if he should call.

After a few seconds he taps on it and brings it up to his ear without giving himself a chance to back out and fighting himself to not hang up. The line rings two times before it’s answered. 

“Yea I should have seen that coming. Hey kiddo.” Peter immediately picks up on how tired Mr. Stark sounds. 

“What do you mean ‘It will be’ Mr. Stark? Is there something going on? Something I can help with?”

“No!” is Mr. Starks instant response before clearing his throat “No Pete, this isn’t something you can help with. And really I’d rather you not be near it at all right now.” There’s a tone of finality but Peter hasn’t always been the best at taking a no to his offers of help.

“Mr. Stark, I promise I can handle whatever it is.” 

A humorless laugh comes from Mr. Stark “Oh bud, it isn’t about handling it. There’s really nothing you can do.” 

“Mr. Stark-” Peter gets cut off

“Peter, I promise if this was something I thought you could help with I’d tell you. But it isn’t, and to tell you the truth, I’d oppearte better knowing you’re nowhere near by.”

Peter has an inner war with his need to help Mr. Stark and his need to do as he’s asked. Finally he lets out a sigh, “Can you at least tell me what it is?”

“Not right now. But, if everything goes according to plan, then you’ll know what’s happened by tomorrow afternoon, or Friday morning at the latest.” Peter can hear the determination in his mentors voice.

Peter gives another sigh “Alright. Are we uh- are we still on for Friday?”

“Of course kiddo, believe me it’d take a lot more than this to get our lab day cancelled.” is Mr. Starks instant reply. 

Peter can't help the relieved smile, he had been worried that Mr. Stark was going to have to cancel. He tries to tell himself it wouldn’t be a big deal if Mr. Stark did have to cancel. But Peter knows that some part of him would have been hurt by it.

His thoughts are cut off when Mr. Stark starts speaking again “Oh by the way, I’ve been looking over your web shooters. I think I may know of a way to make them smaller while retaining the amount of web fluid they hold.” 

Peter lets out a surprised noise “Really?” is the only response he can come up with.

“Yea, I haven’t gotten the chance to really design it or even draw it. But I figure maybe you and I can hammer that out on Friday?"

"Mr. Stark that'd be amazing!" Peter exclaims. 

"Then that's settled." Mr. Stark says with what Peter thinks maybe a smile in his voice. 

They continue to talk for a little while. Mr. Stark asking about Peter's days and Peter doing the same to Mr. Stark. They're talking about some upgrades they can make to Peter's suit when a question he'd forgotten to ask pops back into his head. 

“Hey Mr. Stark I’ve been meaning to ask you this again, how do you know when I’m in the suit?”

“Hm? Oh.” Mr. Stark lets out a nervous laugh, “Well you know how I told you that I just couldn’t let a 15 year old run around the city without some measures set in place?” he asks.

Peter thinks about it for a moment, vaguely remembering Mr. Stark mentioning something like that when he asked last time, “Yea? At least kinda?”

Mr. Stark lets out a sigh “Well one of those measures is an alert when you activate the suit.”

Peter’s silent after that.,trying to think what that might imply, “So wait. Every time I get in the suit you know?”

Mr. Stark makes some kind of noise that Peter can’t decipher before going silent “....Yes.”

“Why?” is the only question Peter can think of.

There’s another sigh from Mr. Stark, “Pete, you’re 15. I know you think you’re invincible thanks to your powers. But, I’ve seen people who thought they were invincible get incredibly hurt. So I put some things into your suit that would make sure you had…” Mr. Stark trails off for a moment “You look out for the little guy right? All the people you’ve helped either the old ladies you give directions to or the robberies that you stop. I just wanted to make sure that somebody was looking out for you Pete.”

Peter can feel his annoyance rising, “What like I’m 5 or something?” there’s a bite to his words he hadn’t meant to be there but he won’t take them back.

“Peter, no. I know you aren’t 5, and I’m not trying to treat you like you are. I just…I didn’t like the thought of you getting seriously hurt and no one knowing. Think of it this way, when you were learning to ride a bike you had to have training wheels, right?” Mr. Stark says in a calm tone.

Which only seems to serve in moving Peter from annoyed to angry, “Oh my god did you say training wheels? You really do think I’m just a kid don’t you? What else do you get from the suit huh? Do you get all my vitals too?”

Mr. Stark lets out a sigh. Peter can tell there’s some kind of emotion behind it but he’s too lost in his own to figure out what.

“Only when the suit deems that you have an injury that needs immediate attention. I promise Peter I’m not trying to Big Brother you.” It almost sounds like Mr. Stark is pleading.

Peter ignores that last part in favor of focusing in on the first, “When the suit deems? How would the suit know? What are there other things in the suit that I don’t know about?” 

There’s a beat of silence and then Mr. Stark speaks up with an emotionless voice “Alright Peter, I know you’re upset and I’m sorry that I’ve made you upset. But I can tell that this conversation isn’t going to go well, so I think it a good idea we cut this short.”

Peter doesn’t get a chance to respond, “If you’d still like to come over on Friday then I will gladly talk then when we can do it face to face. But if you don’t...Then just let me know when you’d like to.”

Peter’s silent, he has no idea how to respond, but Mr. Stark seems to take his silence as an answer. His mentor lets out a deep sigh, “For what it’s worth Pete, I’d like you to come over on Friday.”

Peter finally manages to find his voice that’s been stuck somewhere in his throat, “I’ll think about it sir.”

Mr. Stark lets out another sigh, “Right, have a good night Peter.”

“Good night Mr. Stark.”

Peter takes his phone away from his ear and just stares at it. It’s at this moment that Peter realizes what he’s done. 

He can feel the pressure behind his nose and the stinging in his eyes begin to build. He tosses himself on to his bed as the silent tears start to fall.

\----

Tony’s exhausted. In fact, he doesn’t even think exhausted is the word for it. Because this isn’t the kind of exhaustion that happens after spending a few nights in the lab creating. No, of course he hadn’t slept the night before but it’s more than that. It’s the feeling he got after his first major argument with Rhodey, Pepper, or Happy. It’s the feeling like he’s let someone down. Like he’s worthless. 

He’s standing in front of his mirror, sporting an all black Armani suit with a red tie. The picture of wealth and confidence. But, all he sees is the man that had hurt a kid. A kid that he had started thinking of as...his kid. But now he just might have blown it. 

But he won’t apologize for the protocols. He put those in to keep Peter safe, to make sure, that crazy, amazing kid isn’t out there totally alone. That Peter has at least one person watching his back, even if the kid wasn’t aware of it. 

Tony’s straightening out his cufflink when he hears a knock on his door. He looks in the mirror and sees Rhodey standing in the doorway in his dress blues, looking as sharp as the first time he had shown up at the dorm in them. Tony tries to go for a smile but he can tell that it comes out as a grimace. 

Rhodey walks in and places a hand on Tony’s shoulder, squeezing gently, “Listen, I know you’re worried about Peter, and I am too. But I need you focused on this alright? Because if we aren’t on the ball this could backfire so hard that Peter will be one of many bigger worries we’ll have. And don’t forget, you’re doing this for Peter.”

And that is the crux of it all. Tony is doing this all for Peter, of course it benefits him too, but even if it didn’t he’d still be doing this. Because he has to protect Peter. Not because he doesn’t have faith in the kid, in fact it’s the opposite of that. Tony knows without a shadow of a doubt that Peter will be the best of them. Hell he’s already better than Tony, might even be better than Rogers. 

But it’s with the thought of protecting Peter that Tony squares his shoulders and brings his chest forward slightly. He watches as Tony melts away and is replaced with Anthony. And is surprised to see his eyes shift color ever so slightly from the bright blue to a much duler shade. Out of the corner of Anthony’s eye he watches a similar change takes place in Rhodey. He watches as his Platypus melts away into the commanding presence of Lieutenant Colonel Jame Rhodes, or James for short.

They meet each others eyes in the mirror and give a nod to one another. Anthony picks up the sunglasses sat on the table beside the mirror, black frames and red lenses to match the suit. 

They’re both silent as they make their way out of the room and down the elevator towards the garage. When they exit the elevator Anthony can see Happy leaned against the car their taking, he’s fidgeting with something in his pocket, and Anthony knows exactly what it is but he can’t dwell on that now. 

Happy gave them both a nod and opens the door for them, Both James and Anthony slide in to their seats in silence. 

They’re a few blocks away from the tower when Anthony finally comes out of his thoughts enough to ask a question he should have asked earlier, “What did your contacts have to say?”

James lets out a snort “Oh they were very interested in all of it, but especially the off the books stuff. Seems Thunderbolt doesn’t have a lot of fans in the chain of command.”

Anthony nods his head “And that means…?”

“That means that if we can handle this right in the committee that not only would Ross be gone from the UN, but potentially from his position as Secretary of State.” James says, with a strong undercurrent of confidence in his voice that Anthony wished he truly felt.

They’re silent the rest of the way towards the UN building.

As they sit at a redlight Anthony pulls his phone out and debates texting Peter. An apology, another go at an explanation that he oh so woefully fucked up the first time. A hand wraps around his wrist and brings him out of spiraling thoughts.

He looks up at James, “We’re here.” 

Anthony looks out the window and sees that they’re in a parking garage underground. He can make out at least half a dozen heartbeats, all beating a calm rhythm. He thinks it must be the guards of the building.

He looks back to James and gives a nod. Constructing his confidence once again. The major key in that confidence is promising himself to make things right with Peter after this. He’ll go pick the kid up from school, maybe take him to Tony’s favorite ice cream shop in the city. Just something to give Tony a chance to make amends.

\----

Anthony and James are led into a room that looks like a smaller version of a Senate hearing room. There’s a panel at the front of the room with seven seats behind seven placards. Each placard noting the country of the delegate they represent. Thankfully this is a closed doors meeting with no press or audience in attendance. The delegates come out of a side door, each in discussion with one another. Well almost all of them, Anthony notes that no one is speaking to Ross, or is even near enough to him to speak. 

They file in behind the panel, each stopping behind their chair. They all look at Anthony and James, Anthony can see Ross faintly raise an eyebrow at them. They all take their seats but Anthony and James remain standing, waiting to be addressed. 

Finally Princess Shuri of Wakanda speaks up, “Lt. Col. James Rhodes, Tony Stark.” she makes a gesture with her hands “Please have a seat.”

“Thank you, your Highness.” Anthony says as he unbuttons his suit jacket and pulls his chair out.

“Thank you, ma’am” says James as he pulls his chair out as well. 

Once they’re both settled Princess Shuri speaks again “I must admit none of us expected for the two remaining Avengers to ask to speak with us. Especially so ...Soon after everything.” she sounds hesitant. And if this were any other time Anthony would try to ease her worries. But as it stands neither Anthony nor James can afford hesitance in this matter.

Anthony and James had decided earlier that Anthony would begin this little maneuver they were pulling and that James would see it through.

When Anthony begins speaking it’s in a grave tone “Thank you all for giving us the time to speak. Today we’re here as concerned members of the Avengers. I call upon you to look over the evidence we bring forward and to use it to judge one of your own.” The room goes deathly still as James hands him a file from the folder he had been carrying, “What I hold here is reports, eye witness accounts, and list of evidence and where it can be found for an operation performed under the order of Thaddeus Ross. This particular operation is well known though, because it is what created the Hulk. In fact there are a few of these that will be well known, but there are more that are not, and it is those that you should be worried about. For in those there is no oversight from chain of command. There’s just Thunderbolt and his search for the ultimate weapon. And he will use whatever he deems necessary.”

Anthony stops speaking and sits down. No one moves for a few moments until finally Ross seems to come back to himself, “You can’t be serious Stark. What? You decided that you were going to get rid of me and went and fabricated false reports?”

James is the one to reply “These are not fabricated or false reports. They each have testimony from victims or family of the victims of Ross’ operations.” 

The room is silent again. Anthony can see Ross' face turning a shade of pink out of the corner of his eye.

But before Ross can speak another delegate asks a question “You say you have files on all of these ‘Operations’. How many are there?”

“There are 28 in total Ambassador…?” Rhodey asks.

“Hyun, Cho Hyun of the People's Republic of Korea. And each file contains witness and evidence lists?” Ambassador Hyun asks.

James nods his head “Yes sir.”

Hyun leans back looking lost in thought. While the German delegate leans forward “Let us say, for the sake of argument, that we believe you. Why bring this forward now and not when the accords were first brought to you?”

Anthony takes this one, “At that time Ambassador I agreed with what was being asked of in the accords. Which was accountability, and I still do, we still do.” he motions between himself and James, “But, I’ve been reading over the amendments made to the accords and I don’t believe in what they are being turned into.”

The German delegate raises an eyebrow “Which is Mr. Stark?”

Anthony leans forward “A piece of oppressive legislation. Anyone that has not signed the accords and is found acting outside of them will be detained? That isn’t what I signed on for. It’s not what either of us signed on for.”

The delegate from Ecuador speaks next “And why do you believe that has anything to do with Secretary Ross?” 

Anthony turns a hard stare on to him that has the delegate leaning back in his chair slightly, “I’ve seen how Ross operates Mr. Gallegos, believe me when I say I can see it a mile away.” he can hear Ross give a hmmph as Princess Shuri speaks again.

“And what of you Lt. Col.? You’re a military man as well, do you agree with Mr. Stark?”

“Your Highness I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t agree or believe.” answers James without missing a beat. Anthony has to suppress a smile as he sees Ross going a darker shade of red in the face.

The remaining delegates all look at one another and appear to have a nonverbal discussion before Princess Shuri turns back to them “You have brought all of these files with you?”

James nods “Yes your Highness.”

“Oh come on! You can’t seriously believe them!” Ross yells out.

Princess Shuri calmly looks over “Secretary Ross if these claims are indeed false and unfounded then I see no reason to look over these files to confirm it.”

Ross gives her a hard stare before leaning back in his chair, “Fine. Let's get this over with.”

An aide walks to the table and takes the files off the table and takes them to the panel, handing them over to Princess Shuri, “Gentlemen, if you would please wait out in the lobby?”

Both Anthony and James nod and stand from their chairs and make their way out of the room. There’s a little lobby area off to the side with couches and chairs. A TV hangs from the wall showing the time and what committees are in what meetings. A small coffee bar sits under it. Anthony makes his way towards the coffee machine as James sits down on the couch. As he goes through the process of making two cups of coffee he can feel the mask of Anthony slipping away. As Tony turns around he sees that instead of James, Rhodey is back and looking exhausted. 

Tony sits down beside him and hands Rhodey his cup of coffee, Rhodey raises the cup a little in a gesture of thanks that Tony nods his head at. Tony focuses his hearing and can make out talking at first that quickly devolves into yelling, the yelling mainly sounds like it’s coming from Ross. 

Rhodey pulls him out of his prying “Well that went pretty well I think.” 

Tony gives a snort as he takes a sip of coffee “If you could hear what I can then you’d know it went perfectly.” Rhodey turns his head with a raised eyebrow, “I’m pretty sure the princess just called for the guards to escort ol Thunderbolt out of the building.”

Rhodey gives a smirk “I knew he was in a house of cards. All it needed to topple over was a good breeze.” 

Tony lets out a tired laugh.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you guys wanna follow my tumblr that would be https://lonegh0st.tumblr.com/. Although not a pure writing blog, or anything blog really, I reblog lots of IronDad content over there.


	10. Submerged

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They’re both silent for a moment until Shuri breaks it “So, Tony, you must tell me how you came to create this arm. Of course in Wakanda we already have these but I must admit this looks very advanced for someone outside of our country.”
> 
> Tony laughs at the back handed compliment, having missed when it was a genuine skill used “It’s a rather long story that does much better with visual aids. Why not come by my lab sometime? I get the feeling you could show me a thing or two, what with your advanced tech and all.” He says the last part with a grin that Shuri returns.
> 
> “Oh I believe I could colonizer. Let me check my calendar and I will get in touch.” Shuri says returning his grin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks, I did promise that there would at least be an update by the 30th. But there was a moment where I didn't think I would. I'm sure every fic writer you read has mentioned how the current world situation has affected them, and I'm not different. I currently work in an essential retail space, which means if I weren't taking the 2 weeks of paid leave that my employer had given us I'd still be working. But I am, which means I have 2 weeks off work. In these two weeks I hope to at least finish a chapter and maybe start another, but who knows. Been feeling really overwhelmed with everything so. Don't worry I won't abandon this fic out right, but there may be a chance of putting it on hiatus until I can find some sort of motivation and energy again. But I haven't decided on that yet. 
> 
> Anyway enough of my rambling. As always I hope you enjoy, and comments are always welcomed (and encouraged)
> 
> Trigger warning for this chapter: gun violence. Please tread carefully everyone

Tony and Rhodey are still sitting in the lobby 15 minutes later. Rhodey had stepped off to the side to speak on the phone with his contacts at the Pentagon, and Tony is still on the couch, grasping his phone like a lifeline. He’s staring down at it, hoping it has the answers he needs to fix what he broke with Peter. He’s hovered over the kids last text message for the last 5 minutes, debating on if he should send anything or do this all in person.

Just as he’s about to tap on their conversation, what Tony can only assume is an aide comes into the lobby. They have short, black hair and are wearing a well fitting suit. Their accent is lilting, much like that of Princess Shuri.

“Mr. Stark?” They ask, looking over at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

Tony stands, buttoning his suit jacket, “That would be me.”

The aide looks relieved, “If you would follow me. The Princess would like to speak with you in her office. 

Tony nods his head towards Rhodey, “Give me just a moment?”

The aide looks over and nods their head, “Of course, I’ll be just here when you are finished.”

Tony gives a nod of thanks before walking over to Rhodey, who has been pacing and whispering into his phone. He knows that Rhodey knows it doesn’t matter anymore. That Tony would hear him through at least six or seven walls if they aren’t sound proofed. But it was a force of habit for Rhodey at this point and Tony knows all too well how hard it is to break those habits.

When Rhodey looks up from his pacing and sees Tony walking his way he interrupts whoever was speaking, “Sir, I’ll have to call you back. Yes sir. Yes sir. I’ll do that sir. You as well.” he takes his phone away from his ear and puts it into his pocket, before speaking to Tony directly. 

“Seems there’s some unconfirmed news reports floating around that Secretary Ross has been escorted out of the building and handed over to MIlitary Police.” Rhodey says with an air of nonchalance.

Tony gives him a look, “I assume that has something to do with you and your contacts?”

Rhodey gives a shrug and casually says “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

That’s all the confirmation that Tony needs, “Yea uh huh. Well it seems I’ve been summoned to court by the Princess.” 

Rhodey gives him a concerned look, “I’ll wait for you here then.” But Tony waves his offer away.

“Head back to home. Just tell Happy to send me a car.” Rhodey gives him a stare for a moment, seemingly wanting to argue. But it seems he sees something on Tony’s face because he’s deflating the next moment. 

“Fine, but only because my back is sore.” he says in a deadpan tone.

Tony gives his brother a grin and a pat on the shoulder before turning on his heal and walking over to the aide, “I’m all yours, please lead the way.” 

The aide nods their head and begins walking down the hallway, away from the lobby area and the committee room. They walk for a few minutes in silence, Tony too exhausted to really fill it in and not even sure what to say at the moment. Which seems to be the trend of these past few days. They finally stop in front of a door, the aide slides a card over the RF scanner and Tony hears the lock click. 

The aide walks in and holds the door open for Tony. He steps through into a small waiting area that has a desk and two chairs against each wall, “If you’ll wait here just a moment I will let her Highness know that you are here.” the aide says as they close the door. Tony gives a nod and the aide walks through the door on the right hand wall.

The office doesn’t seem to be sound proofed because Tony can hear them speaking to one another, but it’s in a language he doesn’t know so he can’t make out what they’re saying. He decides to look around the small waiting area to fill his time. 

It’s filled with pictures of people and paintings with vibrant color. There are also small sculptures all across the room, some in shapes Tony can recognize, one looking like a panther and the other a gorilla, others he isn’t sure but he finds their geometric shapes pleasing. He’s stepped closer to inspect one such sculpture when he hears the door open behind him.

“Mr. Stark? Princess Shuri will see you know.” 

Tony turns around gives a smile and a nod as he walks through the door. Princess Shuri is sat behind a white desk that has holograms floating above it. Despite hearing that Wakanda was the most advanced country in the world, it was still a little jarring to see holograms outside his own area, but he doesn’t let it show. 

The Princess looks up from what she’s reading and stands, a large smile on her face, “Ah Mr. Stark! Thank you for agreeing to see me! I know it was such short notice, but I wasn’t sure when we would see each other again.” she walks around the desk and comes to stand in front of him. And, in a move that Harry would find subtle brings her left hand up for a handshake. 

Tony gives her a grin, deciding not to comment, instead he brings his mechanical hand up and returns the hand shake, “Well it’s not everyday I have royalty asking to speak with me.” he can see her trying to be polite by not looking down at his hand but she isn’t exactly subtle about it. It reminds Tony a lot of Peter, which just serves to sober him a little from his more joyful mood.

“Princess if you wanted to see my arm all you had to do was ask.” Tony says in a teasing tone. He grins when she drops his hand like she’s been burned by it.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, I can assure you!” She says in a slightly flustered tone. Tony finally cracks a smile and gives a laugh and is pleased to see the Princess do the same. She motions him into the room further “Please come in Mr. Stark. Is there anything I can get you? I’ve been told that our coffees and teas are very good.”

Tony walks further in while unbuttoning his jacket and taking it off “Tell you what, if you call me Tony I’d gladly sample some of Wakandas finest.”

“Only if you agree to call me Shuri.” Tony can hear the laughter in her voice.

“You have yourself a done deal Shuri.”

\----

Ten minutes later finds Tony and Shuri sitting across from one another, Tony nursing a cup of amazing coffee and Shuri a cup of fragrant tea. She has her head thrown back in laughter as he tells her a story from the MIT labs.

“And so here I am with motor oil all over me and Rhodey with a screwdriver through his hand.” he says grinning.

She continues laughing, “How did you two even manage to get out of that one?” she asks in between breaths.

Tony gives a snort, “Oh that one was easy compared to some others. Remind me to tell you about the time Rhodey and I went to a house party on Greek lane our sophomore year when you get older.”

Shuri makes an indignant sound “I will have you know that I am 18 and Princess Royal of Wakanda.”

Tony gives a grin “Yea. And you’re still a kid.” 

She shakes her head and drains the last of her tea, Tony does the same with his coffee and sets it on the table beside his chair. He decides he wants to breach the next subject.

“Now I assume you didn’t call me here so I could wow you with the misadventures of my college years.” Tony attempts to soften the blow with a genuine smile, which seems to work.

Shuri gives a sigh, “You assume correctly.” she leans forward folding her hands on the desk and schooling her features into a serious expression. “I hope you understand that I, and others on the committee found it odd that not only have you not come to other meetings before now, but that you haven’t been seen in public either. Or the fact that when you do come you have a new arm and bring forward very serious allegations against a member of the committee.”

Tony sobers up as well, schooling his face into a carefully blank mask, “I can understand how you might find that odd. But I promise you that I have perfectly valid reasons for all of that.” 

She studies his face for a moment before speaking, “Would you wish to share those reasons?”

Tony had already made up his mind but decides to weigh his options one more time. He could tell her now and be done with it, hoping that the next person assigned to represent the US wouldn’t attempt to use the current accords document to get their hands on his tech or Extremis. Or worse, Peter. Or wait and see who gets assigned and begin amending the accords so that they better protect not only himself, but Peter as well, and the undoubtable others like Peter.

He gives a moment of serious thought before coming to the same conclusion he had earlier, “Not at this moment no. I’m sorry Princess, but there are things that I still don’t know for sure, and it’ll be easier in the long run for me to give one, precise, detailed account.”

Shuri gives him a hard stare for a moment, “But you do admit that there are changes much more beyond the arm?”

Tony looks at her for a moment before deciding that he can trust her at least a little.

He brings up his mechanical hand and takes his sunglasses off. Tony hears her breath hitch in her throat, but is surprised her face stays passive, “I am willing to admit that yes, there have been changes beyond the arm.”

Shuri looks at him like she’s committing every detail to memory before nodding her head. Tony nods his head and brings his sunglasses back up to his face.

They’re both silent for a moment until Shuri breaks it “So, Tony, you must tell me how you came to create this arm. Of course in Wakanda we already have these but I must admit this looks very advanced for someone outside of our country.”

Tony laughs at the back handed compliment, having missed when it was a genuine skill used “It’s a rather long story that does much better with visual aids. Why not come by my lab sometime? I get the feeling you could show me a thing or two, what with your advanced tech and all.” He says the last part with a grin that Shuri returns.

“Oh I believe I could colonizer. Let me check my calendar and I will get in touch.” Shuri says returning his grin.

Tony nods and stands “You know where to find me.”

Shuri stands as he puts on his jacket, once he’s done she brings her hand up, for what Tony assumes will be a handshake. But instead, she goes through this very elaborate handshake with him. One that has him fumbling the whole time. 

Shuri looks at him with a grin on her face and twinkle in her eye that reminds Tony so much of Peter it hurts a little, as she says “Don’t worry, we’ll work on that as well.”

\---

Peter’s walking home from school, listening to his ‘ _ pick me up’  _ playlist. He hadn’t slept much last night after his argument with Mr. Stark. He’d been wracked with equal parts rage and guilt, rage at being treated like he was 5 instead of 15, guilt for yelling at Mr. Stark and sounding ungrateful for everything.

He’s so lost in thought he jumps a little when his music cuts off and is replaced with his ringtone. He pulls his phone out of his pocket and his heart drops and his stomach churns when he sees that it’s Mr. Stark calling him. Peter stands there in the middle of the sidewalk like he’s rooted in place, debating on answering or not. He doesn’t really want to be yelled at, even though Mr. Stark hadn’t yelled last time, though Peter wasn’t a fan of the emotionless voice he’d used either. But he also really wants to answer and to apologize and hope his mentor won’t want to cut all ties with him.

But in the end, Peter takes too long to decide and the call is sent to his voicemail. He watches as the notification pops up that Mr. Stark had indeed left a voicemail for him. Peter decides to at least listen to whatever the man had to say. At least this way he wouldn’t have to listen to the whole thing if Mr. Stark was yelling or using that voice he had used last night. 

The voicemail starts playing and the first thing Peter hears is a deep sigh, “ _Yea, I guess I deserve that.”_ his mentor sounds as exhausted as Peter feels. “ _Hey Pete, listen I was calling to say…. To say I was sorry about last night.”_ _Wait what?_ Is Peter's first thought “ _I should have told you sooner about everything in the suit. And I was going to, really I was. But… I wanted to do it after you’d had some training…”_ Mr. Stark trails off for a second “ _Listen bud, I really want to do this in person. So just uh- just come by tomorrow, yea?”_ there’s another sigh “ _I’ll see y-”_ Mr. Starks voice is cut off. The voicemail must have reached its maximum length is what Peter assumes. 

Peter looks down at his phone and thinks about calling back, but eventually the guilt rolling in his stomach decides for him. He pockets his phone and begins walking again, not even absorbing whatever song was playing from his playlist.

All Peter can hear is Mr. Stark's apology on loop in his head the rest of the way home.

\----

Before Peter can even walk through his door, he can hear May’s steady heartbeat and quiet humming as she does the dishes. He takes a moment to stand there, leaning against the door and pressing his forehead to it, trying to build himself back up. Peter had managed to not let his anger and guilt show this morning, but it had been a long day and listening to Mr. Stark's voicemail had just made him feel even more exhausted. 

He takes a deep breath and opens the door and walks in, closing the door just loud enough so that he knows May will hear him come in. 

“Hey baby! I’m doing the dishes if you wouldn’t mind coming in to dry before doing homework?” she asks, clearly a smile in her voice. It makes Peter smile just a little.

“Sure May.”

Peter walks into the kitchen, picking up a clean dish towel along the way to the sink, and stands beside his aunt. He picks up a dish from the sink and begins drying. 

“So how was school sweetie?” May asks without looking up.

Peter shrugs as he sets his now dry dish in the rack and picks up another, “It was ok I guess.”

She laughs a little “Just ok? What, nothing blow up in the chemistry lab today?” 

He gives a small snort “No, not today.”

May continues to ask him questions and Peter tries his best to give her answers that won’t make her suspicious of his current mental state but it doesn’t seem to work. After only a few minutes she sets down the dish she was cleaning and turns to look at Peter.

“Hey what’s wrong Pete? Is everything ok?” May asks with clear worry in her tone.

Peter continues to dry the dish in his hand but turns his head to look at her, “Nothing’s wrong May.” He tries to smile to sell it even more.

But it doesn’t seem to work, “You sure? Because you sure don’t look fine.”

“Yep, totally fine.” Peter says, trying desperately to keep it together.

May takes the now dry dish out of his hand and holds them in hers, turning him to face her, “What’s going on Peter? You look pale as a sheet and your eyes have designer bags under them.” she says the lost part with a gentle smile.

Peter sighs “It’s nothing really, just not feeling all that great.” 

May brings a hand up to his face, checking his temperature with it, “You don’t feel warm, what's wrong?” 

Peter hates that he’s gotten this good at lying “Just uh- just really achy and tired.” 

May gives a sympathetic look and whips her thumb across his cheek, “I’ll finish this up, why don’t you go get a shower and changed into some comfortable clothes? Then you can do your homework and eat dinner and be off to bed in no time.”

Peter nods his head “Yea, that sounds like a good idea.” He gives her a tight hug “Thanks Aunt May.”

May returns the hug just as tight “Of course baby,” she pulls back and holds him at arm's length “Now go get that shower.” 

Peter nods his head and heads to his room, stripping down to his boxers and grabbing his towel before heading to the bathroom. He stands under the hot spray of the shower, hoping it would loosen the knots that have taken the place of his muscles, and it does help. At least a little. He stays there in the shower for what feels like hours but has probably only been 20 minutes. 

When he gets out and dries off, he gets dressed in a haze, in his most comfortable pair of sweatpants and cotton shirt. He sits on his bed only intending to check his phone. But the next thing Peter knows he’s being woken up by a knock on his door.

\----

Tony’s sitting in his lab, tinkering with a new pair of leg braces for Rhodey. His brother hadn’t asked for a new pair, but Tony had had some new ideas to make them better. And considering that he knew he wasn’t going to get that much sleep, after everything at the UN and his attempted call to Peter. He had set the fabrication area to work on getting materials ready for when he would eventually come down in the middle of the night.

Sure enough after calling it a night at midnight, Tony woke up at 4 A.M. covered in a cold sweat and the after images of Peter falling at the airport in Germany. 

After that Tony knew that sleep would be impossible for the rest of the night. So he did what he’s done after so many nightmares; he brewed a cup of coffee and went down to the lab. Prepared to bury himself in work until Rhodey or Pepper would eventually come pull him out.

Tony gets a little lost in his work after lunch with Rhodey until FRIDAY speaks up, “Boss, the time is now 4 P.M. and Mr. Hogan has not seen Peter... I am sorry.” 

Tony hangs his head. He’d been hoping the kid would take him up on his offer to come over so that Tony could actually explain everything. But, that doesn’t seem to be the case, he takes a deep breath “Nothing for you to be sorry about baby girl. Tell Happy to come on home, I guess the kid isn’t coming today.”

“Of course sir.”

Tony leans his head down to rest on the cool metal desktop, he angles his head so that he can see Peters desk. Right next to his. 

He lets out a deep sigh, “Fri, put on playlist 4 for me.” He doesn’t get a reply but instead he gets the opening drum beat of  _ Blood  _ by Candiria. He picks his soldering iron back up and begins his work again on Rhodey’s leg braces, fully prepared to lose himself in his work for the rest of the day. Fully prepared to not think about the hurt, guilt, and self loathing rolling around his stomach. 

And he does exactly that for a few hours. Only coming up for a cup of coffee here, a bag of blueberries there, a bathroom break and so on. Tony makes great progress on the braces, he truly thinks they may be the best work he’s done in a while. Well other than the arm, but the arm is as much Peter’s as it is his.

Tony’s just walking out of the bathroom when he sees Pepper standing in the lab, “Pepper! What a pleasant surprise!”

Pepper looks up from her tablet with a concerned look “Tony, where’s Peter? Isn’t today supposed to be a lab day?”

Really, Tony shouldn’t be surprised by how easy the lie rolls of his tongue at this point, “Hm? Oh. The kid made some plans with one of his little friends. Decided he could use a full weekend off.” 

Pepper studies him for a long time. If there’s two people that could see through his bullshit it’s Pepper and Rhodey, But it seems he managed to make it convincing enough.

“Well that’s a little disappointing, I was hoping to speak with him. The last time I saw him I had to speak with Rhodey before getting back up to the penthouse.”

Tony gives a hum as he walks back to his desk, “I’ll be sure to let the kid know you asked about him the next I speak with him.” 

“I appreciate that. But that isn’t the only reason I came down here, Mr. Stark.” Pepper says in a lightly playful tone.

He gives her a small smile “And what other pressing business brings you down Ms. Potts?”

She gives him a full smile now. But quickly sobers and looks down at her tablet, “Well we have an interview request. And it’s the first time we’ve gotten one from this particular person.”

Tony's interest is slightly piqued by that, "Oh? Who is this mystery person?" Pepper hands him the tablet, "Lester Holt? He's the NBC guy right?" he hands the tablet back. 

Pepper nods her head "He hosts Nightly News. But I've been looking into him, he's a very thoughtful interviewer." she throws a video up onto a holo display. In the video it shows Lester interviewing a member of congress. The man asks the congresswoman fair but tough questions. None of them being an outright attack, but a way for the person to further explain something. 

They watch a few more before Tony comes to a decision, "When are they hoping to do it?" he asks. 

Pepper looks back down at her tablet "They'd like to do a live interview on Tuesday." 

Tony gives off a hum, debating his options, "Let's do it." Pepper gives him a look of surprise "I know, but I think it's time I start working my way back into the world. Especially so if I'm going to be working on the accords." he looks down at his arm and hand, "And it'll be a good chance to let the public know about the prothstetics lab." 

Pepper gives him a look for a moment before nodding, "I'll get our people on it." 

He gives her a genuine smile before she turns and walks out the door. 

\----

Peter had stayed home from school on Friday. He somehow managed to fall asleep after his shower and had slept through the whole night, which he found hard to believe. Considering that he still managed to sleep most of Friday as well. May had told him to call Mr. Stark and let him know that he wouldn’t be going to the tower that day either. Peter had told her he would, and some part of him wanted to, even to just ease his mentor a little.

But Peter had backed out. Deciding that he couldn’t call and say he wasn’t coming because he was sick. It was a too convenient out for him. All he really did was text Ned and ask if he could grab any work he would need to make up and mess around with some old tech he’d picked up while he was out last as Spider-Man. 

And that’s exactly what he did over the weekend as well. He wanted to go out in the suit and fight crime, but it just didn’t feel right. Not after the argument it had caused, and there was a small petty part of him that didn’t want Mr. Stark to know when he wore the suit.

The weekend came and went, and by Monday morning Peter was feeling at least a little better. Though he still felt guilty, he could push it to the back of his mind. At least he could until lunch.

“Dude your boss is going to be doing his first interview tomorrow!” Ned says a little too loudly when he sits beside him, tray clattering to the table. 

Peter gives him a mildly panicked look, “Dude not so loud! And what do you mean ‘first interview’? Mr. Stark has done tons of interviews. Hell we’ve watched a ton of those interviews.” 

Ned waves his hand, “You know what I mean. He’s doing his first interview after the Civil War!” Peter’s breath hitches in his throat and his eyes go wide in shock which Ned seems to pick up on for once, “Wait, you really didn’t know?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

Peter clears his throat and shakes his head, “N-No, he uh- he didn’t mention anything to me.”

Ned makes a ‘O’ face “Oh, well, yea! He’s doing a live interview with Lester Holt Tomorrow night.”

Ned keeps speaking but Peter zones out, too caught up in his own thoughts to catch whatever it is Ned’s talking about. He manages to pull himself out of his spiraling thoughts by the time the rest of his classes roll around. But, Peter is very aware of it in the back of his mind.

\----

Tuesday night finally rolls around and Peter is sitting in front of his tablet waiting on the interview stream to start. He had been anxious all day at the thought of seeing Mr. Stark again after nearly a week of not speaking with him. But, Peter doesn’t just think he’s anxious about seeing his mentor, it almost feels like his sixth sense has been going off at a low frequency all day. Like there’s  _ something _ it needs to warn Peter about but it, and by extension him, has no idea what that something could be.

His circling thoughts are cut off when the intro music starts playing. There’s a panning shot around a studio, first to those behind the camera before showing Mr. Holt and finally landing on Mr. Stark.

Mr. Stark looks good, his hair has been cut into its classic style, as has his beard, he’s sporting a pair of red tinted sunglasses that manage to hide his now blue eyes, and he’s sporting a simple gray button down and black sacks. His sleeves are rolled up, his mechanical hand on display for the whole world to see. Something about that, seeing that hand that he and Mr. Stark had spent hours building in one day manages to break him just a little. A single tear running down his face. 

There are other things Peter picks up on as well. While Mr. Stark's face shows a perfectly calm smile, Peter can see his shoulders are slightly hitched, like he’s prepared for an attack at any moment. Peter also notices Mr. Stark's nostrils are flared out as well. Peter doesn’t think he would have picked up on these things if it weren’t for the fact that he had seen the man in his relaxed state. Which just makes his guilt that much worse. 

The interview finally begins, “Good evening, I’m Lester Holt and tonight, as I’m sure you’re all aware of, is a very special and different Nightly News. Tonight I have the distinct pleasure of speaking with Tony Stark.” The camera cuts from the close up of Mr. Holt to a wide angle showing both men sitting in front of the other. “Mr. Stark, first allow me to say it’s a pleasure to have you here.”

If Peter weren’t watching so closely he’s sure he would have missed it, but he sees Mr. Stark's mechanical hand twitch when called Mr. Stark. He uses the same hand to do a dismissive wave, “Plese, call me Tony. And thank you for inviting me.”

“Of course, “ Mr. Holt looks down at his note cards for just a second before looking back up to Mr. Stark, “well if it’s all the same, I'd like to dive right into what I believe many of our viewers will consider a rather shocking revelation.”

Peter can't help but chuckle at the fau confused face Mr. Stark pulls "Now Lester, whatever are you talking about?" 

Peter can hear chuckles in the studio and sees Mr. Holt smiling "Well correct me if I'm wrong but I don't believe you had a metallic hand outside the suit last we saw you." 

Mr. Stark makes a surprised face and lifts his arm, "Oh you mean this ol thing! Well if you must know this particular model was designed by I and a rather genius inventor." 

And as much as he wishes he couldn't, Peter can hear the pride in Mr. Stark's voice. Another tear falls free. 

"I'd like to come back to that last bit in just a moment. But, I have to ask, can you tell us what happened?" Mr. Holt asks. 

Mr. Stark for his part doesn't react too much, except for another small twitch of his mechanical arm, "Not much to tell really. It's how this hero gig goes sometimes." and Peter knows that his mentor is speaking directly to him at this very moment. "You go in to handle a threat and sometimes you don't come out whole on the other side." 

Tears are freely falling down Peter's face now. This had been what Mr. Stark had been trying to tell him. Had been trying to explain to him. And Peter had been too stubborn to listen. 

“And that’s all there is to it?” Mr. Holt asks. 

“Yep.” Mr. Stark gives the other man a smile.

Mr. Holt only gives a small huff, “Alright moving on then.” Mr. Holt takes his glasses off and crosses his leg “Earlier you said ‘this model’, what did you mean by that?” 

Mr. Stark gives a more genuine smile, “Well you see Stark Industries has been looking into getting into fields that haven’t had a lot of innovation. And what innovation there has been, is expensive and not available to everyone. And I should say that this isn’t an attack on those who have innovated, We really understand that some of these companies don’t have the financial backing like SI does. But, there were those of us within the company that thought we could help move these fields forward. So that is why I’m very happy to announce that SI will begin producing prosthetic limbs. And to answer your question my current arm is a one of a kind creation between I and a very close friend.”

Mr. Holt begins to speak but Peter is absolutely stunned and loses track of the conversation. He of course knew that Mr. Stark liked him, maybe even knew that Mr. Stark enjoyed having him around. But, a small part of Peter thought that maybe after Peter blew up on him that Mr. Stark… He doesn’t know. He just hadn’t expected his mentor to call him a ‘close friend’. 

Peter manages to come back at Mr. Holts next question, “You mentioned a close friend, is there any chance that some of us might know who this person is?”

Mr. Stark gives a large smile “He’s a complete unknown in my world, but let me tell you, he’s gonna set the world on fire one day. And I for one, can’t wait to see it.”

Tears start flowing freely down Peter’s face again.

\----

The interview has been going for 40 minutes when suddenly Peter’s sixth sense absolutely screams at him. He’s up on his feet in an instant, standing in a defensive stance like he was waiting for an attack to come from somewhere in his own room. But Peter doesn’t see a threat, but he realizes one second too late that the threat isn’t in his room.

“Nobody fuckin move!!” a voice yells off camera. 

Peter turns his head towards his tablet. A sense of slow, creeping horror crawling up his spine. He sees a man in a hard hoodie and black jeans come into frame holding up a pistol. His hold on the firearm is steady and firm, faintly reminding him of how Rhodey held his in the lab. He can hear faint crying in the background, but he can’t pay attention to it. Because Peter’s entire focus is on the man holding a gun aimed directly at Mr. Stark.

Peter can see Mr. Holt jerk at the scene but instantly stops when the gun is turned towards him, which is when Mr. Stark just has to go and speak up, “Hey whoa easy. No ones gonna move right, everyone?” The gun is aimed back at Mr. Stark and Peter forgets how to breathe for a moment. 

“You shut the fuck up.” the man holding the gun says. 

Mr. Stark gives him a smile, “Sorry, I don’t think I know how-”

His sentence is cut off “I said shut the fuck up! Jesus can’t you follow a simple fucking order!”

Peter finds himself really wishing that Mr. Stark would do exactly what the man says to do, but he knows that he won’t. Because Spider-Man wouldn’t and even if Mr. Stark doesn’t have the suits, he’s still a hero.

He’s still Iron Man.

“Well I’m sure there are a slew of teachers that would tell you that I don’t.” Mr. Stark says with a small frown “You know there might be-” 

He cuts off when there’s a sound behind the camera, the gunman turns around and fires a shot.

“Hey! Hey! Eyes on me!” Mr. Stark yells standing from his seat and facing the gunman fully. The gunman turns back around, his gun trained on Mr. Stark's chest. “There you go. Now I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you’re here for me, no?”

Peter can feel the guy seeth, “Christ that’s some ego you’ve got Stark. Can’t stand it when you don’t have full attention?”

“What can I say, I’m an attention whore.” Is Mr. Stark's snarky reply.

The gunman scoffs, “Christ Stark, how can you even stand to listen to yourself talk?” 

Peter knows what Mr. Stark is doing, he’s keeping the gunman’s attention trained solely on him, but Peter really wishes he wouldn’t.

They keep going back and forth, trading barbs with one another. Peter faintly wonders why the feed hasn’t been cut, which leads his brian down a dark path that he really hopes isn’t what happened. 

Peter notices it a second later. Mr. Stark is slowly inching forward towards the gunman. His breath hitches in his throat in fear. A fear that the gunman will notice. But he doesn’t seem to.

Until he does.

May walks in at that moment, “Peter hey come on you don’t need to be watching this.” She reaches to exit out of his browser but he grabs her hand before she can.

“No! May please I can’t! I have to know he’s ok!” he pleads with his aunt. But whatever she’s about to say is cutoff when the gunman starts speaking.

“You think you’re so smart don’t you Stark? Thought I wouldn’t notice what you were doing? But you see, I’ve got you exactly where I want you.” The gunman says in an eerily calm tone of voice.

What happens next feels like it happens in slow motion. 

There’s a moment of total silence. Then suddenly it’s filled with three loud bangs. Peter thinks he may have screamed. He isn’t sure. 

“My name is Charles Edwards and I want it known that I don’t regret any of this, I only regret I didn’t do it sooner.” Then there’s another bang and the gunman drops to the ground.

But Peter barely registers it. All he can see is a blurred image of Mr. Stark standing there with three crimson stains on the front of his shirt. Two look to be forming where his stomach is, the other his upper left chest, potentially close to his heart is what his analytical mind supplies. He can register screaming coming from the studio and watches as Mr. Stark falls to his knees, his flesh hand coming up to his shirt and coming away covered in blood.

The stream finally cuts out. 


	11. Breathe In The Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first thing to come back to Tony is his sense of smell. He can smell the antiseptic of the MedBay, the traces of Pepper’s perfume and Rhodey’s cologne. There’s another one, one that’s stronger but he isn’t familiar with it. The next thing to come back is his hearing, he can hear the beeping of a heart monitor and he hears a slow, steady heartbeat and deep breathing somewhere close by. Next is his sense of touch and the first thing he notices is a weight on his arm and something gripping his hand. Finally, Tony has the mental capacity to open his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! I hope all of you are keeping safe during these rather shit times. I'll be in honest, I took 2 weeks off work and only wrote 3k for chapter 13 so I think I'm going to put the story on a short hiatus while I try and write some more chapters to create another buffer zone. There's somethings that are working in my favor to help that so it shouldn't but a long hiatus, I'd say you could probably expect another update somewhere around May 3/4. I really don't want to do this but I've just had no motivation to write, but it's slowly coming back. 
> 
> Really I just couldn't stand to leave ya'll on a cliff hanger because I know that would drive me insane too. I hope y'all know just how appreciative of all the support you've given me I am. All the comments and kudos really do mean a lot on what is my first major story undertaking. 
> 
> With all that said, I'll catch y'all in a few weeks. Stay safe everyone!!

The first thing to come back to Tony is his sense of smell. He can smell the antiseptic of the MedBay, the traces of Pepper’s perfume and Rhodey’s cologne. There’s another one, one that’s stronger but he isn’t familiar with it. The next thing to come back is his hearing, he can hear the beeping of a heart monitor and he hears a slow, steady heartbeat and deep breathing somewhere close by. Next is his sense of touch and the first thing he notices is a weight on his arm and something gripping his hand. Finally, Tony has the mental capacity to open his eyes. 

The room he’s in is dimly lit, the main source of illumination being the light over the sink in the corner of the room. Tony moves his eyes from the source of light, to around the room. He’s in a MedBay room, just like the smell in the air had told him. It’s one of the larger ones, nearer to the operating rooms. Which tells him enough for now.

Finally Tony looks down to his left and is surprised to find a person asleep on his arm, facing him. In the dim light and drug induced haze of his brain it takes Tony a moment longer than it should to realize it’s the kid. No not the kid, _his_ kid.

It’s Peter.

His features are lax in sleep, but even Tony can see the bags under his eyes, how gaunt his face is, and how greasy his hair looks. Tony looks a little further past Peters face and sees that his kid has his hand in a death grip, their fingers interlocked. He brings his focus back up to Peter’s face and drinks it in. When he had been staring down the barrel of that gun he had been worried that he wouldn’t get to see Peter again. Wouldn’t get to apologize to him. 

And then he’d been shot.

Tony knew that Extremis would be able to handle the shots in his gut. What he wasn’t sure about was the gunshot to his chest. While he hadn’t been sure, he thought that there was a high chance that the bullet had pierced his heart. Tony leans his head back down against the pillow and squeezes Peter’s hand, trying to assure himself that this isn’t some hallucination he’s having in his death throws. 

Seems that tiny bit of pressure change is enough to wake his kid up. Tony turns his head and watches as Peter brings his free hand up to rub at his eyes. And slowly, Peter opens his eyes fully and Tony feels like he’s watching the sunrise for the first time. Tony gives him a slow smile as Peter’s eyes come into focus. 

Peter furrows his brows, a little frown on his face, “‘ony?” he slurs out in a half asleep voice

Tony gives him a bigger smile, the kid had finally called him Tony! 

“Hey buddy, you comfy down there?” Tony whispers to him trying not to startle him. 

Peter moves his head, rubbing his face on Tony’s arm like he’s trying to bury himself in it, “di’n’t wana le’ve you” he mumbles, still seeming to be half asleep. 

But suddenly Peter’s head shoots up, “Tony! Oh my god! You’re awake! This is real right? I’m not dreaming?” he sounds frantic. Like he can’t quite believe it.

“Not unless we’re sharing the same dream ‘roo.” Tony says softly, squeezing Peter’s hand for emphasis. The new nickname slips out without Tony being aware of it before it was too late. But really, he thinks he’s allowed to be a little sappy after nearly dying. 

That seems to be enough for Peter because suddenly his eyes are filling with tears “Tony. Tony. Oh my god _Tony._ ” the last one is said in a broken sob. Peter brings both hands up to wipe at his eyes. 

Tony instantly moves over on his bed, bringing his newly freed hand up and cupping the back of Peter’s neck, “Come here buddy. It’s alright I’m right here.” he pulls Peter up onto the hospital bed. Peter comes willingly and wraps his arms around Tony’s torso and wraps his legs around Tony’s left leg. Doing what Tony thinks is a very good impression of an octopus. 

Tony pulls Peter’s head to rest under his chin and lets his kid bury his face into his chest. Letting the tears, and probably snot, stain Tony’s gown, “That’s it, let it out ‘roo. I’m right here.” he says into Peter’s hair, planting a kiss onto the crown of Peter’s head. 

“But you almost weren’t!” He cries into Tony’s chest, “They lost you on the table! Twice! And-and there was nothing I could do!” Peter’s full on sobbing now. 

Tony wraps his mechanical arm around Peter’s torso and brings his natural hand up and buries it in Peter’s hair, scratching at his scalp. Much like Jarvis did for him when he was upset as a kid.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that Peter. But I’m right here buddy. I’m right here.” Tony says, placing another kiss on his kids head before leaning back on his pillow. 

Tony continues to scratch at Peter’s scallpe, whispering reassurance’s to his distressed kid. When they don’t seem to work Tony’s at a loss of what to do, until a memory from his own childhood slams into him. It’s of his mother singing him to sleep when he was maybe 6 or 7 years old, the lyrics of the song floating through his memories.

He begins humming the song to Peter, a simple little melody. It seems to start working slowly, Peter’s crying starts to slow down, before finally stopping altogether. Next, his heart rate starts to slow down into a slow, steady beat that fills both Tony’s ears and his chest. Finally, Peter’s breathing slows down into deep, even breaths. 

Tony continues humming as he looks down at Peter and sees that his kids eyes are closed and his face is truly lax in sleep. 

Tony leans his head back and sings some of the lyrics 

_Ognuno ha il suo bambino_

_Ognuno ha la sua pap_

_E tutti fan la nanna_

Tony stops singing and closes his eyes, whispering into the room “Good night Roo.”

\----

Tony isn't sure how much time has passed since he's been dozing, Peter still asleep on his chest, when he hears the door to the room give a soft click. He opens his eyes and looks over to see who might be coming in, prepared for it to be a nurse that he'll have to gently turn away for now. At least until Peter wakes up. 

Who he wasn't expecting to see coming in is May Parker. 

She doesn't seem to realize he's awake yet, coming in quietly and turning around so she can gently close the door. Which is just as good, he'd like for Peter to stay asleep for a little longer. When she turns around Tony watches as she looks to the chair that Peter had been sitting in, and upon seeing it empty has a look of panic. Tony decides that no one else should have to panic today. 

"Hey." he whispers, trying very hard not to wake Peter up. 

May's head whips up to look at him and her face takes on a soft look when she sees the position he and Peter are in.

"Hey yourself." she nods her head at Peter, eyebrow raised. 

Tony gives her a little shrug, "He woke up after I did. Started to freak out and I did the only thing I could think to calm him down." 

May gives him an even softer smile and a quiet chuckle. She waves her hand at the chair that Peter had vacated and Tony gives her a nod. 

She walks over and sits down before speaking again," You did the right thing. He's always needed physical reassurance. Ever since his parents." May brings a hand up to Peters back and rubs softly. 

They're both quiet for a moment, enjoying the relative peace that's only broken by the heart monitor and Peter's quiet breathing. 

Tony turns his head towards May," How long have I been out?" 

She meets his gaze for a moment before looking back at her nephew, "Three days." 

Tony lays his head back down and closes his eyes, "Fuck." 

May gives a snort, "Yea you could say that again." 

He brings up his left hand and rubs at his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, dreading this next question but needing to ask anyway. 

"Peter said… He said they lost me twice on the table. What happened?" he notices the cold creep into his voice and clears his throat, trying his best to keep that detached tone out of his voice for this conversation. 

May looks at him for a moment, studying him, much like she might a cornered animal. Finally she gives a sigh and leans back into the chair.

“I haven’t seen your charts so this is all coming from what I’ve heard from the doctors. The wounds had started to heal by the time you were brought to the tower, by the way I want a much more detailed explanation on what exactly has changed you. And maybe what happened to cause it. “ Tony gives her a nod, already not looking forward to that conversation. “They rushed you into emergency surgery. By the time Peter and I had gotten here they had removed the two bullets from your abdomen and were working on the one in your chest.”

May pauses here for a long moment, looking concerned.

“The bullet in your chest pierced your heart. But it wasn’t a clean through and through. It lodged in your heart.” she pauses, looking him in the eye.

Tony’s breath catches in his throat at that, but he nods his head for her to go on.

May gives a deep sigh, “Whatever it is you used to heal yourself had started to do its job, which made the surgeons job much more difficult. Because your heart had started to heal around the bullet. From there they lost you twice, I’m sure if they had been given the time they could have used the equipment they use in heart transplants to bypass your heart. But they wanted that bullet out before it could fully fuse with your heart.”

They sit in the heavy silence after May has finished her explanation. Tony spends it tucking away information about Extrmis and what he should add to every operating room. Finally the silence drags on far too long, past the point that Tony finds comfortable. 

“Well I guess I know what’s going into every OR this week.” He tries for a joke, thankfully it seems May has an appreciation for dark humor after a traumatic experience. She gives him a tired smile and a shake of the head. 

The silence after that is much more comfortable. But Tony sees May lean forward with a serious expression on her face. Tony thinks he may just have an idea of what she’s about to ask.

“I know that Peter’s very fond of you, and I think it’s safe to say that fondness runs both ways.” here her seriousness is broken, just a little, at the grin she gives as she motions at Tony and Peter, before turning serious again, “But, when Peter was freaking out he kept saying he wouldn’t be able to apologize. He wouldn’t tell me what he needed to apologize for. Once they let us start coming in, he took up on the chairs and wouldn’t leave. I had to have Mr. Hogan drag him out and force him into a shower.” 

May lets out a deep, exhausted sigh.

“So I’m going to ask you, what could Peter need to apologize for that it had him this freaked out?”

Tony leans his head back against his pillow, slightly tightening his hold on Peter, and lets out a sigh, “Honestly? Nothing. I’m the one that should have tried harder to apologize.” he tells her, and it’s true. He should have tried harder.

He doesn’t get a reply for a few seconds, which he takes to mean to continue, “Peter and I had an argument last week.”

May’s reply is instant, “About what?”

Finally Tony opens his eyes and looks at May, coming up with what is essentially the truth, just modified to protect the kids secret. If he wasn’t a coward he’d tell May the full truth, but.

Tony gives a sigh, “Safety. I told him that I didn’t want him near certain things while working with me. I may have equated it to learning to ride a bike with training wheels.” 

May's silent for a moment, then she brings her hands up to cover her mouth while she laughs. Tony gives her a wry expression. She takes a moment to collect herself. 

"All I have to say is, welcome to teenagers." 

\----

May doesn’t stay much longer after that, she tells Tony that it’s well past midnight and that she was the one that had taken up vigil for the night. But seeing as how Tony’s awake he sends her on her way, urging her to get some sleep. May takes a little persuading but finally relents, claiming that she’d like a long shower too. 

Before she walks out of the room she pauses at the door, turning her head to look over her shoulder at Tony, “When he wakes up make him get a shower and food. Maybe he’ll actually listen to you.” 

Tony gives May a nod, determined to make sure the kid did just that as soon as he woke up and they had a chat. May gives him a smile and walks out the door, shutting it quietly behind herself. Tony lays there and stares up at the ceiling, the comforting weight of peter on his chest seeming to keep what panic had been trying to build at bay. 

He lays there for sometime and just thinks. Thinks about the month and a half that he’s had. The Civil War, the RAFT, Siberia, Extremis, the new arm, and now the attempt on his life. It all stacks onto the already existing horrors of his life.

But.

There are bright stars that shine in the darkness of his life. The people he loves most in this world, going all the way back to his childhood with Jarvis and his wife, and Aunt Peggy. To the more recent ones, the oldest and brightest being his best friend, his brother, his rock for so many years. And the newest is a young star, freshly formed and not at his brightest illumination.   
  


It’s as these thoughts that he feels something brush against his mind. It takes him a moment to realize it’s FRIDAY. There aren’t any cameras in MedBay rooms, despite what people may think, Tony took HIPPA laws very seriously. Sure, the MedBay had mainly been used by the team over the years, but it was also there for the employees and their families, at no cost. 

Instead of speaking though he just sends a pulse back to her. Letting her know that he hears her, but he’s exhausted after a long conversation with May. Tony looks down at Peter, who still has his face half buried into Tony’s chest, hand clutched onto his gown. The sight makes Tony’s heart flutter a litte. 

While Tony is emotionally constipated, he recognizes love when he feels it, and not just romantic love. He recognizes platonic and familial love as well, has felt both at least once in his life. So Tony knows what this love is. Knows into what category this love falls into. And…. He doesn’t know what to do with this feeling. Tony knows that it was really only a matter of time until the kid had managed to worm his way into Tony's heart. But he had thought that it would take longer, had thought that maybe he would have time to prepare himself. Really Tony should have known better he thinks. 

He brings his hand back up to scratch at Peter’s scalp again and drops a kiss at his kids temple, “You sure are something buddy, you know that?”

Peter reacts almost like he’s faked being asleep, but Tony knows he isn’t, can hear his heartbeat and breathing. Peter lets out a sigh and a small smile crosses his face as he nuzzles further into Tony’s chest. 

But to Tony it feels like an ‘I love you’.

Tony gives a smile and drops another kiss before whispering, “Love you too Pete.”

\----

Tony is woken up by the sound of knocking on the door, he still feels groggy from sleep as he looks down at Peter who seems to have been woken up by the same thing. Just as Tony looks up to reply the door cracks open and Rhodeys head pops around from it, a soft smile on his lips and sparkle in his eyes that promised there would be lots of poking later. At least when a certain spider kid wasn’t in hearing range. 

“Hey you two, I heard that a certain dumbass woke up last night.” Rhodey comes in and sits down in the chair that Peter and May had both used. 

Tony gives a snort, “I wouldn’t say I woke up, more like I dozed for a few hours with the world's best weighted blanket.” he says the last as he gives a squeeze to Peter’s shoulders, trying to convey that he really didn’t mind.

And it seems to do the job, “Yea well at least I’m not like a furnace.” Peter mumbles into Tony’s chest, but giving Tony a squeeze as well, before sitting up. He begins rubbing the sleep from his eyes, “Time is it?” he asks.

Rhodey looks down at his watch “10:30 on Sunday morning.” he looks back up at Tony when he speaks next, “Helen said she’d be down in a minute. Said she wanted to give you a chance to wake up before coming down.” 

Tony can hear the code clear as day, but it seems thankfully that Peter can’t. He gives Rhodey a nod and gives him a smile, “Honey bear you wouldn’t be a dear and bring me a cup of coffee would you?”

Rhodey for his part raises an eyebrow before shaking his head, “Just woke up from a near death experience and he wants a cup of coffee. Can you believe this guy Pete?” he asks Peter with a smile.

Peter turns his head to look at Tony with a toothy grin that Tony raises an eyebrow at, “I actually can Rhodey.”

Rhodey snorts as he stands up, “Just this once Tones.”

Tony gives him a smirk, “You’re the best Platypus.”

“Yea and don’t you forget it.”

Rhodey walks out the door and for a moment it’s silent except for the beeping of the monitors he’s hooked up too. Tony knows that in this moment it’s his job as the adult to start this conversation, but he just isn’t sure how too. 

He decides being direct is his best option. Beating around the bush had gotten them here in the first place, “Peter, I-”

“Mr. Stark-”

They each stop speaking. Tony watches as Peter’s shoulders hitch up, and the kid doesn’t turn around to meet his eyes. He lets out a sigh before reaching forward and putting a hand on Peter’s shoulder. Tony brings Peter back with him to lean back against the bed, tucking the kid into his side, and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. 

“Can I speak for a second bud?” He asks Peter. Peter still isn’t meeting his eyes but he gives Tony a nod. “Two things, one, are we back to ‘Mr. Stark’? I thought I was finally Tony?”

Peter finally looks up at him, a confused look on his face, “I haven’t called you that?” he says like Tony has lost his mind.

Tony gives a smile, “Oh but you did Roo.”

It seems the new nickname kick starts the kids memory. Peter’s face begins to blush as he looks down at his hands, “I….I was so worried that you wouldn’t wake up and that I wouldn’t get to apologize to you. And when you did finally wake up I just….I just lost it.” he whispers the last part like it’s a shameful secret.

Tony squeezes him further into his side “Peter can you look at me?” he asks quietly. It takes Peter a few seconds to do as he’s asked, but when he does Tony gives him a smile, “Pete, do you want to know what I was thinking about the whole time I had a gun on me? You.”

Peter’s eyes go comically large at that, “Me?” Tony nods his head “Why me?”

Tony gives him a bigger smile “Well I was worried my favorite intern might be a little lost without his boss.” He watches as Peter’s eyes well up so he drops the joking tone and makes himself serious “Peter I didn’t want that to be our last interaction if it came down to it.”

A tear falls down Peter’s check, “I didn’t either.” 

  
Tony leans Peters head against his shoulder, “I’m sorry Peter, I should have told you the truth to begin with. I should have been upfront about your suit and how I thought you should progress. I-I should have made it a conversation.”

Peter lets out a shuddering breath, “Apology accepted. Can it be my turn now?” he asks

Tony gives a small snort, “Yea bud, even though I don’t think you have anything to apologize for.”

“But I do! I shouldn’t have yelled at you, or-or accused you of treating me like a kid, and I really shouldn’t have ignored your texts and calls!” Peter’s breathing is heavy, and his pupils are blown wide.

Tony brings his hand up and cups the back of Peters neck, giving it a squeeze, “Breathe Roo, just breathe. You’re alright.” 

Peter takes a few deep breaths before getting himself back under control. He looks up at Tony with the most sincere face Tony has ever seen, “I’m sorry Tony.”

Tony gives a sigh and brings his head down to rest on top of Peter’s “Apology accepted.”

They’re both quiet for a few minutes, both seeming to just enjoy the others company in the silence. Finally Tony thinks enough time has passed for the emotional conversation to be at least absorbed when he decides to bring up the next topic of conversation.

“Oh another thing, your aunt dropped by last night to check up on you. She mentioned someone not eating. Or taking showers for that matter.”

Tony can feel Peters body stiffen, “I have no idea what she’s talking about.” he claims in an attempt at a nonchalant voice.

Tony gives a laugh, “Pete I was a teenager once, eons ago, and believe me when I say I still remember teenage stink.” Peter gives an indignant ‘Hey!’ and a little shove and Tony just laughs louder. “How about this, Happy can take you and May home so you can get cleaned up and some actual sleep.”

Tony knows it’s the wrong thing to say when Peter’s eyes go wide as saucers and they hold so much _fear_ that Tony can feel it roll through him.

“I-I no-no I-I c-can’t I-” Peter makes an effort to stammer his way through a sentence but it just isn’t working.

Tony cuts him off “Hey, hey, hey shhhh you’re alright. You’re alright, just breathe for me Peter.” Tony grips the kids neck a little tighter again, making sure there’s a point of contact to keep him grounded.

Peter shakes his head “Wha-what if s-something hap-happens to you? I-I should b-be here.”

Tony realizes once again that he’s an idiot, “Peter, Peter buddy I need you to look at me ok?” Peter looks up at him with tears in his eyes. Tony brings his hands up to cup his kids face, “Peter I promise you, nothing will happen to me here. This is the safest place I can be.”

Peter gets an incredulous look on his face “Someone just broke in.”

Tony gives a sigh, “That wasn’t just anyone ‘roo. It was the Black Widow, “ Peter’s eyes grow even larger, “but I promise that we’ve set measures into place that not even the super spy can break. I promise I’m safe Peter.”

Peter continues to shake his head, tears falling freely. Tony gives a bit of a defeated sigh, “Ok, Ok. You can stay here for now, but buddy I need you to go home tonight alright? You have school tomorrow and I don’t want you to miss it because of me. Can you do that for me?” 

Peter stares at him for a few seconds, before he finally closes his eyes, lets out a shuddering breath and nods his head. Tony whips away a tear with his thumb, “I’m really going to be ok buddy.” Peter gives another nod. Tony knows that he’s calming down, can hear his heart rate slowing back down to a normal resting rate. 

“Alright I’m sure Helen will be here soon. Why don’t you head up to the penthouse and grab that shower I mentioned earlier, and as far as food…” He trails off for a second, thinking of what he could cook here. Friday supplies a recipe for him, it’s his mom's spaghetti. It’s the perfect thing, comfort food for everyone, “How about spaghetti?” 

Peter releases one more breath, “Spaghetti is one of my favorites. But I uh, I don’t have any clothes here to change into…” he trails off.

Tony waves a dismissive hand, “Don’t worry about it, we’ll get you settled. Just tell Pepper or Rhodey you need clothes, they’ll know what to do.”

Peter gives him a strange look, but Tony just gives a grin, “On you go spiderling,” he gives Peter’s shoulder a gentle shove, “and don’t forget to scrub behind your ears.”

Finally, Peter cracks a smile, “I’m not 5 Tony, I don’t need to be told how shower.”

Peter stands from the bed, stretching his back with a series of pops, Tony can’t wait to do the same. He turns back around, a hint of anxiety still in his eyes. Tony gives a smile and shooing motion, “I’ll be up in just a second kid, just gotta get through the lecture from the doc that’s all.”

Peter gives a small smile and a nod, turning around and making his way to the door, he looks over his shoulder when puts his hand on the door handle, Tony gives a good natured roll of his eyes, “Kid if you don’t go I’m getting Happy down here.”

Peter gives a snort, “I’m going, I’m going.”

Finally Peter opens and walks through the door, closing it behind him.

\----

Peter’s been gone for about 2 minutes when the door opens again. Tony looks up to see Helen coming through the door.

“I had a bet with Fri how long you’d wait. She said 90 seconds, I said 3 minutes. Guess we have to call this one a draw.” 

Helen looks at him with a raised eyebrow, but Tony can see the laughter in her eyes.

“And a good morning to you too Mr. Stark.” she says cooly.

“Morning doc.” he says with a grin.

Helen gives a shake of her head and brings up her tablet, looking at his charts he assumes, “Well really we’ve just been waiting for you to wake up. All your vitals post surgery have been good, seems that Extremis takes a lot out of you while you heal.”

Tony nods his head, "But I'm good now?" 

She lets out a sigh, like she wishes she could way otherwise, "I see no reason to keep you longer. But, I expect you to take it easy for a day or two." she brings up a finger and points at him, much like a mother might when scolding an unruly child, “And I fucking mean that Tony. I don’t want to see my friend on that surgery table for at least another 6 months. Am I clear?”

Tony stands from his bed, removing the sensors from his chest. He’s glad someone had the good sense to put him in scrub pants and not just a gown. He comes around the bed, and wraps Helen in a hug.

“You’re crystal clear El. But, and I’m only making this connection so I’m sorry you’re the first hearing it, but I think Iron Man is back in action.” He says in a quiet, somber tone.

\----

When Rhodey walks back in Tony’s sitting on the bed, looking out the window and into the mid morning light reflecting off the buildings. 

“You know Rhodey, after being near death so many times, I’m starting to wonder if she doesn’t have a thing for me.” He gives a humorless snort, “I mean I know I was called the ‘Merchant of Death’ but I just thought that was something the press called me. But maybe death and I are tied together in some fucked up way.”

Rhodey knows that if anyone else heard Tony speaking that they would just think he was totally fine with all of this. That he was just making light of things.

But Rhodey can hear how broken his brother sounds. He sets down the clothes and mug of coffee he’d brought down on the bedside table. He gets up and crawls across the bed and sits down behind Tony, wrapping his arms around Tony’s shoulders. Holding him tight with his back against his chest. 

“I made you some new braces by the way. Should be up in the lab just waiting for the final touches.” Tony says, his voice frayed with emotion that’s he won’t let out. 

“Tony-” 

Tony cuts him off, “As soon as I’m showered and check on the kid-”

“ _Tony._ ” His brother finally stops speaking, “Just...Stop for a second, please. I’m ok, more than ok, I’m _walking_ again because of you Tony.” Rhodey moves his arms down from Tony’s shoulders and wraps them around his chest and drops his head onto the other mans’ shoulder, looking out into the city. “Yea, you’ve been close to death more times than any of us like. But do you want to know what sets you apart from most Tones?”

Tony shakes his head.

“You come back. You get closer than anyone else, so close that any normal human wouldn’t come back. But you do.”

Tony lets out a breath, dropping his head back a little, “But what if I don’t come back next time?” he asks quietly.

Rhodey isn’t sure how to respond to that, but he knows Tony well enough now to know when there’s something on his mind.

“What are you telling me baby brother?” he asks.

There isn’t an instant reply, in fact it’s silent for a good minute. But finally, Rhodey feels as much as he sees Tony’s shoulders square, his back straighten, and if Rhodey had to guess, his blue eyes are lit up like they’re full of electricity. Rhodey knows this posture. Knows what it means, and what it’ll bring. This is Atlas taking the weight of the world and not faltering under the weight.

Rhodey can’t hide the smile that crosses his face if he wanted too. Which he doesn’t. Rhodey would have accepted it if Tony had decided to hang up the armor, would have supported him at all costs. But, if Rhodey was being honest, he never really felt like Tony was really ready to put it all behind him. Not yet, If anything this felt more like a break. A chance to step back from something that had consumed so much of his life for so long and assess how he wanted to move forward.

Finally Tony speaks, “I am Iron Man."

  
  



	12. UPDATE

Hi everyone! It's been.... A While to say the very least and I'd like to apologize for that. I said that I would be back around May 3rd or 4th, and that truly was my intentions, but as we can see that didn't pan out. So from the bottom of my heart I'm sorry. But that doesn't mean I've abandoned this project, far from it. It's always on my mind, and I've actually got three chapters written. But that doesn't cover the full arc that I'm writing and I don't know how long this arc will be. But it may be the second longest. On top of that I've really had zero motivation to write when I have the time to, which I hate because I love writing this story. I also want to say to those of you have left me comments, all of which have been so incredibly kind, I'm so grateful to you, and I want you to understand y'all are the reason I keep at least opening this project up in google docs. So all of that is to say, as of now this project is still going, but I have no time table when the next update will be. But please continue to be patient with me. Thank you all so much and much love, Ghost PS, I'll leave this up until the next chapter comes out


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